Evangelion Misfile
by Kraven Ergeist
Summary: Fans of Chris Hazelton's web comic "Misfile" will recognize the concept for this fic. The cosmic data for Shinji and Misato has been misfiled - Misato has been reduced to the age of 14, and Shinji has been turned into a girl. Shinji x Misato. CH 6 IS UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

A/N: Fans of Chris Hazelton's web comic "Misfile" will recognize the name and concept this fan fic. Those of you who haven't, check out the comic at .com.

Chapter One

Shinji yawned as he rolled out of bed. It was early in the morning, and there was already shouting going on in the kitchen. He had been living with Misato and Asuka for almost a year now, but sometimes it was just difficult. It was bad enough that he was the unwanted child of a megalomaniac in charge of a multi-billion dollar paramilitary organization in charge of skyscraper sized biomechanical robots that fought against equally sized monsters bent on destroying the world. It was bad enough that he was forced to pilot one of these giant robots to fight said monsters to protect the world. Adding hormonal roommates on top of it all, however, was just putting salt on the wound.

Groaning, he meandered to the bathroom, seeing Pen-pen cowering in the corner. Shinji sighed in amusement reaching for his toothbrush.

"You and me both, buddy…" his voice trailed off as he cleared his throat. His voice sounded weird for some reason. A cold? Laryngitis? Whatever, he was too tired to deal with it at this point.

He finished brushing his teeth and gargled some mouthwash to try to clear out his throat. He spit into the sink. A loud thud sounded outside in the living room, and there was the sound of the table feet groaning as they were drawn against the hardwood floor. Then there was the sound of breaking glass.

"What is going on out there?" Shinji muttered, forgetting about the way his voice sounded. "Asuka's never been _this_ bad…"

He stepped out of the bathroom just in time to see the table tumble over.

"Let go of me!" came a young girl's voice. But it wasn't Asuka's.

Shinji stumbled around the overturned table and saw Misato…no…Ritsuko? What was she doing here? And she was wrestling with…not Asuka, but…who…?

"Shinji!" the girl shouted, breaking free of Ritsuko's grip. She got to her feet and grabbed Shinji by the shoulders. "Thank god! Please! You've got to listen to me!"

Shinji just stood there, stunned. The girl had raven hair, shoulder length. She had dark eyes and was wearing a pair of blue pajamas. Her hair was a mess, like she had just woken up. Whoever she was, it was apparent she had spent the night here.

"Uh…who…" Shinji managed to get out, his face growing red from the proximity.

"Shinji!" the girl blurted, sounding helpless. "Don't you recognize me!"

The boy could only let his jaw hang open helplessly, no words coming to his mind.

"Misato!" Ritsuko grabbed the girl by the shoulder. "Would you calm down already! I don't know what's gotten into you, young lady, but if you don't settle down, I'm calling Section Two!"

Time stopped. Shinji blinked his eyes, staring at the girl in front of him with something akin to shock.

"M…Misato?"

The girl's eyes seemed to soften slightly. As she did, her features suddenly became recognizable. Her black hair, with a subtle violet sheen, her dark round eyes, and out of the blue, she was the same woman who had been his guardian since he'd arrived in Tokyo-3, since the day his life had changed.

And she looked like she was no older than he was.

"Wh…what…?" Shinji breathed incredulously.

Ritsuko looked at her watch and cursed. "Damnit, I don't have time for this – Shina, can you make sure she gets to school on time? I have to get to work – I'm late as it is…"

Shinji barely registered the comment. His eyes were still on Misato's, who was looking at him with a similar incredulity. Ritsuko fled to her room, leaving the living room an utter mess, with broken dishes and overturned furniture littering the floor. Pen-pen's head peeked out of the bathroom to see if the coast was clear.

And all the while, Misato was holding onto Shinji with a face of utter stupor, and he was looking back at her with the same expression.

"Misato…?" he breathed, blinking in disbelief. "Is that…really…?"

"Shinji…" Misato's eyes fell bellow with neckline, her eyebrows narrowing. "How long have you had _those_…?"

Shinji blinked, before turning his head to down to see what Misato was staring at. His chest was…different…oddly shaped…

Shinji let out a shrill sound as Misato brought her hand up to poke one of the peculiar growths protruding from his shirt. Shinji recoiled, clutching his chest in embarrassment. "Misato!" he hollered, his voice hitting a high note, even for him.

The younger Misato was blinking in astonishment. "This is…some kind of dream, right? I mean, I feel like I'm a teenager again, Ritsuko's my mom, and Shinji's a girl? I'm just gonna go back to bed and wait until I wake up…"

Shinji was too busy trying to figure out what was going on with his body, his face growing redder and redder as his mind grew nearer and nearer to the only viable conclusion, until finally he made a mad dash to the bathroom and yanked off his shirt in front of the mirror.

For miles around, people thought they heard the wail of a klaxon, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there is nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

Shortly after noon, there was a knock on Shinji's door. Shinji was lying facedown on his…her…pillow, eyes red and sobbing.

"Shinji?"

Shinji didn't answer. She wasn't asleep, but she wasn't sure she was awake either. She wasn't sure she wanted to acknowledge anything about the reality she found herself in.

Misato let herself into Shinji's room. She was showered and dressed in a school uniform she had found in her closet. About an hour of lying faceup in her bed, she had gotten up and paced her room. She had stared at herself in the mirror, slapped her face enough times for it to sting, and finally convinced herself that this may not be a dream after all. This wasn't even her room – it was Asuka's! She had never had a room like this! Even when she was a teenager, her bedroom was a pale white hospital room – it had never looked like this. She hadn't exactly grown up like a normal teenager.

And why was Ritsuko her guardian? She had never seen Ritsuko as a mother figure, and even if she had, why was Shinji suddenly a girl? This was a tad shy of a Freudian dream, and even if it was a dream, this was far too clear, and was lasting far too long.

She had gotten into the shower, and while it was unfamiliar, there was nothing strange about it at all. The water felt refreshing, the smell of her shampoo was overpowering, and Pen-pen was even squawking at her outside her shower for his neglected breakfast. She had hurried out of the shower and fed him his breakfast, pondering her situation. The apartment was the same, insofar as it was the same building and same room. The furniture was different, the fridge containing real food instead of her usual fare of beer and instant dinners, but apart from minor differences, the place was pretty much the same.

Except…it looked a lot like Ritsuko's house, she realized. The organization, the style of the furniture, the telltale signs of pet cats – the place looked almost identical in style to Ritsuko's apartment. So…Ritsuko was her and Shinji's guardian, she reasoned. This dream of hers, for she still wasn't convinced it wasn't a very elaborate dream, wasn't going anywhere soon, so she might as well learn the rules, she reasoned. But why was Pen-pen here? Penguins and cats didn't seem to her like compatible house pets.

She went back to her room and began rummaging through her closet and drawers. Everything fit, and despite the unfamiliarity of it all, all of the clothes, the accessories, the makeup and jewelry, everything in her room seemed like it suited her tastes. As she slipped into the school uniform that lay on her desk chair looking like it had been worn before, a funny idea came to her.

A part of her was really curious about this strange world. She had never really known a normal childhood. A part of her kind of liked the idea of being a normal teenager, of going to an actual high school, having friends that she could goof off with, maybe meeting some cute boy…

Then she remembered.

"Shinji!"

He had recognized her! And he…she…hadn't left the apartment as far as she knew. Knocking on her door, she was dissuaded when no response came. Curiosity got the better of her and she pushed the door open.

"Shinji?" she repeated, seeing him…her…still in her pajamas, lying facedown on the pillow.

The figure on the bed lay inert. Misato approached her, warily touching her shoulder with her hand. Shinji's head came up and she could tell she had been crying.

"Misato?" Shinji's voice was high pitched and squeaky. "What's going on?"

Misato kneeled down next to her bed, looking sadly down at the girl. "I don't know Shinji…what do you remember?"

The girl shook her head. "I don't know…I don't remember anything in particular…last night I went to bed like I usually do. This morning, I just woke up…like this…"

Shinji buried his…her…head back into the pillow, and Misato could tell she was crying.

"Shinji…" she breathed. It was oddly relieving to help Shinji deal with this predicament, because it distracted her from having to deal with her own.

But right now, she needed some answers.

"Shinji…" she touched the girl's shoulder again. "You remember me, right? You remember…that I'm not a kid? That I'm an adult? That _I'm_ your guardian, and not Ritsuko?"

Shinji nodded, and Misato sighed in relief. At least she wasn't alone.

"Well…Ritsuko seems to think somehow this is normal…" Misato said, as if that one simple fact explained all the commotion caused earlier that morning. "I tried to tell her that something was wrong, but she's in full guardian mode – all she cared about was that I got up and got ready for school. She must have thought I was going through a mood swing or something."

Shinji's eyes began to dry as Misato sat back against the wall by her bed.

"But for some reason, you and I remember each other the way we used to be…but something tells me everyone else is going to be like Ritsuko, and think that this is normal for us…"

Shinji watched as Misato tried to figure out their predicament. For some reason, having Misato as a fellow victim made it all somehow easier to deal with. But as soon as his…her…mind managed to overcome the sheer shock of the situation, a slew of questions came to her.

"Where's…where's Asuka?"

She still hadn't gotten used to her voice – hell, she still wasn't used to being able to comfortably close her legs! But she hadn't seen Asuka this whole morning, and as abrasive as she was, Shinji trusted and depended on her, and more importantly, was worried that she might be dealing with something equally as weird and otherworldly.

"I haven't seen her, Shinji," Misato admitted, shaking her head. "I've been all over the apartment, but I must admit I haven't had the nerve to go outside yet. I…wanted to talk to you first."

Shinji's eyes began to water again. Her pajama top hung awkward over her feminine frame, still unused to the added mass in her chest.

"Misato…" Shinji began to tear up again, his…her lower lip quivering. "I'm scared…I don't understand this at all…"

Misato took a deep breath and shook her head. "I don't either, Shinji…"

"Perhaps I could offer an explanation…"

Both girls started as a figure climbed in through Shinji's window, sitting on the windowsill. He was young, about their age, with gray hair and red eyes, wearing a school uniform like Shinji's. He had a cheerful smile, an expression that hinted at something hidden underneath.

"Who are you!" Misato yelped more than asked, suddenly looking and feeling very vulnerable. She wasn't sure if her teenage body had the same fighting capacity as her normal body, and she wasn't ready to face anyone else she knew, let alone a stranger.

Shinji just stared at the boy, too bewildered to register any kind of fear that might've come naturally as a girl. Having grown up a male, he could not appreciate the kind of fear Misato felt in this instance. But the strange boy did not seem to exude any kind of threatening aura.

"You can call me Kaworu," the boy said in a friendly manner. "I'm afraid I'm the one responsible for this unfortunate predicament of yours."

That took a few seconds to sink in.

Then… "WHAT!

That had been Misato's shrill appraisal of Kaworu's revelation. Shinji, who might've given voice to his opinion, suddenly clutched her ears. Kaworu, for his part, didn't visibly react to the auditory bombardment.

"Let me explain…" he began, before Misato completely forgot about her earlier fear and marched straight up to his face and picked him up by the collar.

"You're telling me YOU did this!" She demanded, nearly shoving him back out the window. "Fuck the explanation! Fix it first! Explain it later!"

At that point, Kaworu was wincing at Misato's grip on his shirt. "Peace, child!"

"I'm not a fucking child!" Misato shouted. "I'm twenty-nine years old!"

"Actually, you're fourteen," Kaworu corrected. "And Shinji here is now Shina Ikari. You're both the same in every way, except Misato is fourteen years younger, and Shinji is a girl."

"Well, fix it!" Misato screeched.

"Can't. At least, not right now," Kaworu shrugged helplessly. "Maybe it would help if I started from the beginning."

"Well, maybe you should get started on that!" Misato barked, crossing her arms.

"Alright…" Kaworu said, sliding into the bedroom. Shinji curled her knees up protectively, and Misato sat next to her, also protectively.

"I am an angel," Kaworu announced, standing in the center of the room. He held his hands out as the two girls tensed. "Yes, the same type of angels you war with every day, but rest assured, I mean you no harm…much as the circumstances might show otherwise, this was entirely accidental."

Shinji curled up, instinctively backing away. Misato was skeptical.

"An Angel? You look pretty human to me. Can you prove it?"

Kaworu shrugged. "If I did, then NERV would pick up my AT field, and probably lock down, tear apart, or bomb the entire city block. That hardly seems an acceptable result for a mere display. No, you're just going to have to take my word for it. Frankly, my mere presence and knowledge of you two should be evidence enough."

Shinji was simply sitting still, taking all this in. She could hardly think straight.

Misato crossed her arms, still unconvinced.

"So you're some kind of Angel, and you managed to mess up our lives _how_?"

"I'm getting to that," Kaworu assured. "So my most recent position was in the astral wing of the fifth branch of the celestial filing depository."

Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Essentially, I was a cosmic records keeper," Kaworu smiled. "You see, in heaven, we keep files on every little piece of information in the universe, which is a considerably big job. There are files for people, files for plants, files for partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and so on and so forth. You with me so far?"

Now Misato's blank stared matched that of Shinji's. But she nodded.

"So each file is essentially a block of code, sort of like on a computer. Put the file in its proper place, and a person's file will make them that person. But put that file in, say, the vegetable cabinet, and suddenly that person could become a green onion. So it's important that each file is kept in its proper place at all times. And since there's an infinite amount of data and an infinite amount of file space, the job is, shall we say, taxing."

Shinji was following along diligently, if a little faraway. Misato was about ready to have the guy committed.

"Humoring you for no explainable reason – go on."

"So, I was running behind on my shift, when all of the sudden, my boss, Rumisiel, comes marching for an inspection. I sort of panicked, and put away everything I had been working on just in time, when I notice some papers on the floor – which is something the boss doesn't take kindly to, so I managed to kick them under the desk before Rumisiel could see. I would have put them back later, but Rumisiel and I got into an argument, and…long story short, I'm on leave without pay."

Shinji swallowed. "And those papers?"

Kaworu sighed. "They belonged to Misato. And Shinji, I placed your papers in the wrong file when I put them away. I would have corrected it all when my boss left, but I hadn't counted on him firing me and sending me to Earth."

"And assuming we believe this story…" Misato crossed her arms. "Which I don't, by the way…why, pray tell, did they send you to Earth?"

"And…why were Misato's and my files out to begin with?" Shinji piped in. "What exactly were you doing with us?"

"Well, we were getting things ready for the rapture."

"You mean Third Impact?" Misato quipped.

"Potato, potahto," Kaworu shrugged. "Anyway, the boss and his staff have got me here on a sort of trial period. They're keeping tabs on me, and keeping track of what I do. So if I help the people here out with their lives, the boss will see that I'm actually a pretty good guy, and let me back in, and I can fix your files good as new."

"And how long will that take?" Shinji moaned.

"Who knows?" Kaworu shrugged. "Could be a few days, could be a few months, could be years…"

"And you expect us to believe all of this!" Misato screeched.

Kaworu just smiled as he returned to his window. "You just turned into a teenager and your charge turned into a girl overnight. Is my story really so hard to believe?"

"And Shinji and I are just supposed to WAIT for you to prove yourself with these good deeds!" That was Misato again.

"I'm afraid you have no choice," Kaworu shrugged, sounding a little too lighthearted about the whole thing. "You're stuck like this until I can fix it. But rest assured, I'm working on it."

Shinji began to shake. "We're…we're gonna be stuck like this forever, aren't we?"

Kaworu placed a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Don't worry…I'll fix this up soon…you have my word…"

Misato grabbed Kaworu by the arm and yanked him away from Shinji. "Get your hands off him!"

Kaworu shrugged out of her grip. "Alright, alright, I can tell when I'm not wanted. Anyway, don't tell anyone about this – to the rest of the world, you've been this way all your lives. And if any of my bosses find out there's been a misfile, they'll make it this way _permanently_. They don't like mistakes, and they'll do whatever it takes to cover it up."

Shinji let out a sob.

"What about NERV?" Misato asked. "What about school?"

"Nothing else has changed," Kaworu assured them. "Everything is exactly the way it would have been had you been a born a girl," he nodded at Shinji, "And you were born fourteen years ago."

"Where's Asuka?" Shinji demanded.

"I don't know. Where would she be if you had been a girl all this time? The answers won't come to you by sitting there and asking questions. You've got to go out and look for them."

He stepped out the window with a wave.

"Cheerio"

Misato glared at his form as he disappeared out the window. The glare was somehow less threatening now that she wasn't even eligible to drive.

"What should we do?" Shinji mumbled, her eyes still red, her nose runny. Misato snatched a tissue out of a box on his desk and offered it to her, which she accepted slowly.

"We keep going forward," Misato told her, placing a hand on her head.

Apart from the lack of an Adams apple, subtle bust, diminished shoulders, and narrow waist, Shinji didn't look all that different. Her hair was still cut the same length, her eyes were still blue, and her body was still thin and lanky. Compared to herself, Shinji's physical appearance hadn't changed that much. Misato was much shorter now, skinnier and fairer of complexion. She had been an early bloomer, and it was clear that this genetic gift hadn't gone away. But of course, the differences that lay beneath Shinji's pajamas were a change on a whole different level.

"We'll have to help each other along," Misato said, thinking out loud. "I've at least been a teenager before, albeit not your average one…but you've never been a girl before, so there's some things you're going to have to learn…"

Shinji cringed. This was a thought she had been dreading since she had seen her newfound rack in the mirror. "I…I don't…I can't…"

"Take it easy, Shinji…take a deep breath…" Misato instructed. "I'm gonna need your help too, ok? I've never been to a real high school before, and its bound to be much different from college. And there's at least one other thing you're good at that I'm a complete beginner with."

Shinji's lip stopped quivering for a moment. "What's that?"

Misato let out a sigh, her expression helpless and defeated. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her NERV ID card. She held it out and showed it to Shinji. Sure enough, there was her face, just as young as she looked in person.

_Misato Katsuragi._

_Date of Birth: December 8__th__, 2000._

_1__st__ Child and Pilot of Evangelion Unit 00._

"I mean it looks like we're going to be working together a little more closely from now on…"


	2. Chapter 2

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Two

Shinji stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She was still in her pajamas, and the more she looked back at her new body, the more embarrassed she became. As unflattering as the cotton top was, it still did not hide the curve of her form, the slight protrusion of her newfangled bust line, the hint of the nipples poking from beneath the fabric…

"I'm not doing this!" she shouted suddenly, turning away from her reflection. "I'm not! I can't! There's just no way!"

"Shinji," Misato voice sounded from outside the bathroom door. "Don't be ridiculous. You're going to _have _to bathe at some point. And you're going to _have_ to get used to that body. If people at NERV see you behaving strangely about it, it's going to cause suspicion."

"But Misato…" Shinji's blush deepened as she turned around to face her reflection. "It's like…it's like I'm in someone else's body. Someone else's _girl_ body!"

"Shinji…" Misato's voice elevated, like a mother's does when she threatens to punish their child. "If I don't hear the sound of running water in thirty seconds, I'm going to come in there and bathe you myself! You know I'll do it! I have _no_ issues with seeing another girl's body!"

"Ok, ok!" Shinji shouted, turning on the faucet. "I'll do it, I'll do it!"

As the bathtub filled, Shinji gulped as she clutched the edge of her top. "I'll just…keep my eyes closed…" she tugged her shirt off and tossed it on the floor. When she tried to step out of her pajamas bottoms, her foot snagged on the hem of her pants and she wobbled awkwardly on one foot before crashing to the floor. "Ow!"

"Shinji?" Misato knocked on the door. "You alright?"

"I'm fine!" Shinji gasped, kicking her uncooperative pajama bottoms off her legs. The last thing she wanted was for Misato to come in and see her like this. Unfortunately, her eyes had opened in reaction to the fall, and she had automatically looked down when she'd kicked her pants off.

"Oh god…" She squeezed her eyes shut tightly. She could have sworn her nose was bleeding.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Misato's voice sounded unsure. "We have a sync test in two hours. I don't want Ritsuko to be any more suspicious of us if we're late."

"I'm going, I'm going…" Shinji got awkwardly to her feet and stepped into the steaming water. For a while she just sat there, letting the tub fill up with water, refusing to look down. When it got to her neckline, she shut off the faucet, but could only sit there in uncomfortable silence. She knew that sooner or later, she'd have to wash up, but she just couldn't work up the nerve.

"It's awfully quiet in there," Misato chimed in. "Need me to wash your back for you?"

"Misato!" Shinji yelped. "Would you stop spying on me!"

"What, I'm not looking or anything."

"Well, you're listening!"

"Well, how else can I be sure that you're getting yourself cleaned? You can't wash up by just sitting in water you know?"

"I just…look, this is hard enough without an audience, ok? Can you just…give me some time…?"

"It's been half an hour Shinji," Misato grumbled, sounding impatient. "Stop being such a baby! You've got the best opportunity any guy's ever had to explore a girl's body – and it's not like this girl will complain when you touch her."

Shinji was sure her nose was bleeding this time. "MISATO! Do you HAVE to say it like that! Now I'm NEVER going to be able to wash up!"

"Well, fine, come on out and dry off," Misato tapped her foot impatiently. "We've got to get to NERV, and I don't think you've ever tried putting on women's clothing before."

Shinji was starting to feel overheated anyway. It might have something to do with all the blood rushing to her face.

"…You haven't, right?"

"What?"

"Worn women's clothing before?"

"Wha - no! Well…there was that time Asuka made me use her spare plug suit, but that doesn't count!"

Misato chuckled. "What about those leotards we made you wear for that synchronization training?"

"You promised me you would never speak of that to anyone!"

"Oh? Did I? I don't remember…"

"Misato!" Shinji scrambled out of the tub (thankfully the mirror was too foggy to make out her body's reflection) and grabbed a towel. "Don't you dare!"

Misato giggled like a schoolgirl (appropriate, seeing as how she was one now). "Oh, what's the harm now? Everyone thinks you're a girl now anyway. Now come on out and get dressed."

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there is nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

Shinji stared at her reflection in the mirror. The girl's school uniform somehow solidified the reality of the situation. She was a girl now. Her face was still red, though that was more from Misato having to help her put on a bra.

"You poor, poor guy…" Misato mused, grinning like a cat. "You've never gotten to practice with another girl, huh?"

"Shut up," Shinji whined, shifting uncomfortably in her girl's school uniform. "There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Yeah, you're right," Misato admitted, shrugging. "I was already in college before my first boyfriend. Maybe I can fix that this time around…" She winked at Shinji through the mirror.

"Misato!" Shinji groaned, growing redder. "Too much information!"

Misato giggled and threw her arms around Shinji's shoulders. "Aww, don't be like that! I've just never had a girl friend growing up. I feel like this is a fresh start for me!"

Shinji gulped. "But…that guy Kaworu's going to fix everything, right?"

Misato sighed. "I sure hope so…but as long as we're like this, what's the harm in enjoying it while it lasts?"

"Maybe this is fun for you," Shinji groaned. "But this isn't exactly fun for me, you know!"

Misato's expression softened. "Alright, alright…I'm sorry, Shinji. I should be more sensitive to your feelings. I guess I really am a teenager again. Don't know when to shut my big mouth…"

Shinji relaxed a little. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't be…" Misato tightened her hold around Shinji and gave her an honest hug. "So…ready to teach me how to be a pilot?"

They made their way to NERV in relative silence. They passed through the front gates without issue, and navigated their way through without question. The compound looked no different than it used to, though what could they really expect?

"I wonder who our Operations Director is?" Misato chimed in on the escalator.

"Huh?" Shinji blinked, lost in thought.

"Well, I'm certainly not filling the position anymore," Misato chuckled. "So I wonder who it is."

"Oh…" Shinji murmured. She'd honestly not thought of that. "I don't know…maybe Hyuuga or Makoto?"

"Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough," Misato shrugged. "I just don't want to be taken by surprise."

Then they got to the locker room.

"Come on, Shinji," Misato complained. "You put these things on every day…how hard can it be?"

Shinji was looking at her very feminine shaped plug suit, a weak, defeated expression on her face. It's not that she wasn't willing to put it on…but in order to do so she'd have to take her clothes off again.

"Could you…look away for a minute?" Shinji asked, meekly.

Misato nodded, fully understanding. "Take your time…"

Shinji gulped as she undid her school uniform and folded it as neatly as she could. It took her a minute to figure out the bra, but she eventually got it unhooked.

"Everything alright?" Misato asked, less than ten feet away, one hand on her hip with her back turned.

"Yes!" Shinji blurted, dropped the undergarment onto the floor. She quickly stepped out of her underwear and tossed the two pieces of clothing into the locker with her uniform.

The plug suit was familiar in its uncomfortable tightness, though now it was squeezing some parts of her body more than others…and some parts, namely the part between her legs, less so.

"This feels weird, even for me…" Shinji complained, turning to face Misato. "Um…ready…"

"Alright…" Misato said, turning around before smiling, weakly. "Umm…could _you_ turn around now, please?"

Shinji's face lit up before she turned her back quickly. "Oh! R-right!"

Misato giggled and quickly undressed, pulling out what looked like Rei's plug suit, only with some purple trim.

"Ok, so…" Misato held the electro-elastic suit in her hands. "How does this work?"

Shinji stood up straight. "Uh, well…first you make sure it's open all the way…it opens from the back. Then you step into the legs one foot at a time…you kind of have to wiggle your feet to get them all the way in…"

All Shinji could hear was the squeak of skin against PVC, and her face went red as all she could do was imagine what was happening behind her.

"Ok, and then the arms?" Misato offered.

"Um…right!" Shinji blurted. "One at a time…"

More rustling.

"Ok, now what?" Misato turned to look at herself. The suit still hung loose around her body, and looked kind of silly, all things considered.

"Now you zip up the back and press the vacuum seal on your wrist," Shinji offered.

"Umm…I can't reach the zipper," She heard Misato say helplessly. "Can you get it for me?"

"What!" Shinji blurted.

"Don't be such a baby!" Misato spat. "All the important parts are covered up already, so what's the big deal?"

Shinji gulped and turned around, and saw Misato with her back turned, the rear zipper all the way down to her waist, her arms crossed beneath her breasts and head turned to look at her over her shoulders.

"Just…get it over with…" Misato huffed, looking somewhat embarrassed herself.

Shinji tried not to stare at the pale skin of her back as she found the zipper at the small of her back, and brought it up to seal her suit off from the outside world.

"There, now was that so hard?" Misato smiled, turning around. "Now, all that's left is…"

Without waiting for Shinji's instruction, she found the button on her wrist that sucked all the air out of her suit and tightened it around her body like a latex glove.

"Whoa!" Misato yelped, wincing and drawing her arms up over her chest. "Damn, this thing is _tight_! You mean you guys actually pilot in these? God, I had no idea…"

Shinji tried not to pass out as Misato turned to stare at herself in the mirror.

"Still…kinda flattering, all things considered…" she put her hands on her hips. "What do you think, Shinji?"

Shinji just cringed. "Ummm…"

Misato turned to stare at her backside in the mirror. "Man, I have got to go on a diet…don't you think this makes my butt look big?"

"Yeah, Katsuragi, you look like a cow," came a sarcastic voice.

Both girls turned to see a familiar looking redhead, followed by a similarly familiar looking albino.

"Huh…you guys are actually early for once," Asuka noticed, putting her school bag on the bench in the center of the room. "I guess miracles do happen…"

Shinji almost choked. "A-Asuka? A-Ayanami?"

"Hmmm?" Asuka glanced her way. "What are you looking at, Ikari? You got something to say?"

"Umm…I…" her voice trailed off as Rei immediately stepped to her locker and began to disrobe.

"Well, if you don't have anything to say, then don't bother me," Asuka said, tugging off her shirt.

Shinji averted her eyes just in time. "Uhhh…"

"Shin…Shina?" Misato remembered her girl name at the last minute, grabbing her by the wrist. "Let's get going…"

Shinji, red faced, couldn't say anything as Misato dragged her out of the locker room, with Asuka staring in confusion.

"What was that all about?"

As the door closed, Misato and Shinji both breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew," Misato exhaled. "That could have gotten _real_ awkward…"

"Yeah…" Shinji leaned against the wall, looking exhausted. "That wasn't awkward enough already…but, umm…thanks…for the save, and all…"

Misato winked. "No sweat. I couldn't leave you in there to deal with those two. You'd pass out! Besides, we have to look out for each other now."

Shinji nodded, smiling weakly. As embarrassed as all this made her, she was glad she had an ally in Misato, albeit in a situation neither of them wanted.

"But anyway, you haven't answered my question," Misato pouted as they walked.

"What question?"

Misato twirled and posed with one hand behind her head, the other on her hip. "How do I look in this plug suit, Shinji?"

Shinji's nosebleed practically rocketed her backwards.

"MISATO!"

Misato cackled like an idiot as she dashed off towards Central Dogma. "Hahahahahaha!"

The two of them hurried off the test chamber, when Misato suddenly froze in her footsteps.

"D…Dad?"

Though Shinji did not recognize the dark haired man in the lab coat waiting for them in the computer lab looking in on the test plugs, Misato's blood ran cold when Dr. Katsuragi turned to face the two of them.

"Oh, good, you're here," he said coolly. "Go on into the test chamber."

Misato was frozen stiff. "Dad…? Is that…really you…?"

Shinji looked back and forth between Misato and her father. Hadn't she told her that her father had died during Second Impact? But then…she hadn't technically been born until eleven months _after_ Second Impact…that meant that he had to have been around until at least two months after he had supposedly died.

But why was he working here at NERV?

"Hmmm?" Dr. Katsuragi mused, looking at his daughter with a peculiar expression. "What's the matter, Misato?"

Misato couldn't tear her gaze away, her mouth forming words, but her breath unable to rise to give voice to them.

"Umm…" Shinji, in a rare display of bravery, took Misato by the hand and waved at the doctor, smiling weakly. "Sorry…Misato's not feeling well today…I told her not to come, but she insisted…is there some way she could skip her sync test today? Ahaha…hahaha…"

Shinji was sweating profusely. She had never stood up to anyone like this before, especially not while fibbing. But it was clear to her that Misato needed help with this. And this was help that a friend could give.

"Oh, I see…" Dr. Katsuragi checked a computer screen and pushed a button. "Ritsuko, can we reschedule Misato's sync test for tomorrow? She's not feeling well today."

Ritsuko's voice sounded over the comm. link, something about Misato acting strangely that morning.

"Yes, definitely reschedule," Dr. Katsuragi nodded. "I'm going to send her home. Recalibrate the test chamber for the other three and stand by."

As he spoke, Shinji tugged Misato around the corner and looked helplessly at her. "I'm sorry, Misato…I shouldn't have done that…it just…looked like you needed help, so I just…"

"No, Shinji…you really saved me…" Misato shuddered, without meeting her gaze. "I think…I think I _do_ need to go home…I've got to process this…"

Shinji nodded, looking away. "Ok…are you…going to be okay?"

Misato lifted her head and gave Shinji her most convincing smile. It wasn't as convincing as she would have liked. "I'll be ok…what about you? You're going to be on your own with Asuka and Rei…you sure you're up for that?"

Shinji shuddered. "I'll manage somehow…I guess…"

Misato nodded. "Just don't do anything I wouldn't do, and you'll be just fine…"

Shinji managed a hollow chuckle. "Great. That's helpful."

Misato laughed, and this one didn't sound quite as fake.

"I'm going to go now…" she said, turning to go. "And Shinji?"

Shinji looked up as Misato turned to give the girl an honest smile.

"Thank you. For helping me back there. I know it couldn't have been easy for you…"

Shinji blushed, shrugging as she looked away. "We have to look out for each other…remember?"

"Well…still…thank you…" she bit her lip, feeling like there was something else she should be saying, but it wouldn't come to her. So she just turned to run down the hall, without turning to look at the ghost behind her.

Rei and Asuka arrived moments later.

"Hey Ikari," Asuka spoke up when she arrived. "Where's Katsuragi going? She was running back to the locker room in a hurry."

Shinji tensed seeing the two of them. "Ummm…she isn't feeling well…"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh…sure she isn't…the director goes so easy on her. It must be nice to have your father as the head of Project E. Then again, it's probably not as nice as having your father as the commander of NERV, am I right?"

Shinji winced. "Ummm…"

"Or the Operations Director," Rei chimed in, looking at Asuka.

Asuka turned on her. "What? What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Simply that we _all_ have parents in positions of authority here at NERV," Rei stated. "None of us are liable for any more special treatment than the other."

"Oh yeah? Well, what about your parents? Where are _they_?"

Rei merely entered the test chamber. "We are wasting time."

Asuka grinned as she followed her. "Ohhhhh, did that strike a nerve?"

Shinji wanted to speak up and protest Asuka's teasing, but she was nervous enough after lying to Misato's father, and didn't want to have a needless confrontation with Asuka the way she was now.

Synchronization testing, as it turned out, wasn't any more difficult than it was before. She was worried her new body would cause some kind of interference, but she managed to maintain synchronization with her Eva.

When testing was over, she spent an extra amount of time in the shower, not that she was spending much time washing himself, though she did managed to shampoo her hair. She just wanted to give Rei and Asuka ample time to finish showering, get dressed, and leave the locker room before she had to go out there and change herself.

She peeked her head out and saw no one, so she turned off the tap and wrapped a towel around herself as she stepped out into the locker room.

Only then did she see Rei standing by her locker, staring at her.

"Gah!" she recoiled suddenly. "A-Ayanami! What are you doing here!"

Rei simply stood there. "Ikari…you have been behaving oddly today…"

Shinji blanched, still clutching the towel around her body. Rei, for her part, was fully clothed, her hair still damp.

"H-have I? I haven't…noticed anything…different…"

Rei frowned. "You are not behaving like yourself."

Shinji gulped. "I'm not…? How…how do I normally…act?"

"You are normally much more comfortable around your fellow pilots," Rei stated. "Today, you have been intentionally avoiding us."

Shinji blushed, looking away. "Oh…I…I'm sorry, Ayanami…I guess…I just…I've just been going through some…changes, lately…and…"

Rei's eyes widened. "Oh. I see…"

She pointed at Shinji – more specifically, at her bust line.

"You are a…'late bloomer' then. I understand."

Shinji's face reddened very suddenly. "Uh…wha-?"

Rei turned to go. "You should direct any questions you have towards Dr. Akagi. She is your guardian, and familiar with female medical concerns. I hope you trust your fellow pilots enough to confide in us about such matters. If not, then in me at least."

She opened the locker room door.

"Farewell."

Shinji's face was beat red. "Wh-wha-?" she looked down at her bust line hidden beneath her towel and shook her head. "I'm not _that_ small, am I!"

When she realized what she just said, she suddenly became very quiet.

"God damn it, Kaworu…" she grumbled. "You'd better be working fast out there!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Three

Shinji had to wonder if anyone in the world had it worse off then she did.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!"

She recoiled quite suddenly from Misato's face, which was uncomfortably close to hers while she was lying in bed.

"M-M-Misato!" she yelped, for the moment blissfully unaware that she was still in a girl's body.

"About time you woke up," Misato said, putting her hands on her hips. Without Asuka around to fill the role, Misato had dutifully taken the position Shinji's nagging, bossy roommate, which she filled particularly well now that she was Asuka's age.

Shinji shook her head, the same short hair still somehow looking more feminine over her girlish face. "God damn it, Misato, do you _have_ to do that!" she demanded, throwing the sheets off her bed as she jumped out of bed – she had too much adrenaline in her system now to snooze at all.

"Well, someone has to get you up," Misato grumbled. "You sleep right through your own alarm clock. Besides, I need backup before I talk to Ritsuko again. It's _weird_ talking to her now that she's my guardian, and I still have to explain yesterday morning to her."

Shinji rubbed her eyes as she wandered into the kitchen. By the time she had gotten home last night, Misato had barricaded herself in her room – finding out her father was still alive had clearly been a shock for her, and Shinji had a hard time fielding Ritsuko's questions that night at dinner. She had tried passing off the illness story, but she wasn't sure how successful she was. Fortunately, Ritsuko was too busy with work to really pay much attention to it, and Shinji's relatively calm attitude about it seemed to put her at ease.

Shinji was in the midst of preparing breakfast and lunch (apparently, being young did nothing to improve Misato's cooking ability) when Ritsuko walked in from her room, looking prim and proper as usual.

"Good morning Shina," she said politely, the same way she had back before the misfile, though it was hard getting used to the new name. It made Shinji wonder if Ritsuko ever opened up to people, or if she was actually as closed off as he was – oh well, food for thought. "Good morning Misato. Feeling better?"

Misato just sat at the breakfast table eating her toast, looking unamused. "I guess so…"

Ritsuko pursed her lips as she poured herself a pot of coffee. "Well, be sure to see a doctor if you don't feel well…"

Misato nodded, turning her attention to the warm water penguin squawking by her feet.

Ritsuko sighed, her cat weaving between her legs distracting her momentarily. She reached down to stroke its flank.

Shinji eyed the two women petting their respective pets. It was an interesting sight - two creatures, completely incompatible, but coexisting (if completely ignoring one another) and finding refuge in their respective companions. The question was, which was the animal and which was the human in that analogy?

"I'll see you both at sync testing today," Ritsuko said as she hurried out the door. "Misato, if you're still not up for testing today, I want you to see the doctor, ok?"

"Alright," Misato muttered, her mouth full of toast. With Ritsuko gone, the cat began rubbing up against Shinji's leg.

Shinji, who was still in the midst of preparing her and Misato's lunch over a hot stove, tried to gently usher the cat away. "Hey, quit it! Shoo!"

Misato let out a deep sigh of relief as Ritsuko closed the door. "Phew…this is gonna take some getting used to. Ritsuko as my guardian, and my father as the head of Project E? What else could go wrong?"

Shinji turned to offer her a withered look. "Umm…you could have been turned into a boy…"

Misato found herself wishing, not for the first time since the misfile, that she had access to beer. She had no qualms with drinking in her younger body, but Ritsuko didn't keep anything stocked (or at least, if she did, she kept it well hidden).

Trying to amend the situation, Misato attempted a smile. "Are you ready for school, Shinji?" she asked with grim anticipation of the horrors that awaited them there.

Shinji shrugged. "My bookbag's by the door."

Misato shook her head. "I mean…are you _ready_ for school?"

The color drained from Shinji's face as a cold shiver went through her body. "Honestly? I feel like throwing up. But I can't run away from this forever. Kaworu's gonna fix things up for us. For now, we've got to keep pressing on like normal until that happens."

Misato nodded, biting her lip as they finished up breakfast and headed out the door.

"Where is Kaworu anyway?" Misato pondered aloud as they paced down the street. "We haven't seen him since he snuck into your room."

"Oh, I'm sure he's busy," Shinji said, hopefully. "Out doing good deeds and proving himself and-"

"Look out!"

Out of nowhere, Kaworu came hurdling through the air, arms flailing as he tumbled onto Shinji, sending her stumbling to the ground.

Misato recoiled in surprise. "Wh-what the…where did you come from!"

Kaworu looked a little dazed as he looked up from where he sat with a sheepish grin. "Oh, hey girls. Just, uh…out being a Good Samaritan and all that…"

"That's good to hear. Umm…" Misato pointed to Shinji. "Could you…maybe…get off her please?"

Kaworu looked down and saw Shinji laying flat on her back, eyes clenched in pain as she rubbed the back of her head. What she didn't realize at first was that Kaworu's hand had landed right on top of her left breast.

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there is nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

What was more, Kaworu's body was situated right between her legs, her school uniform hiked up and nearly showing Shinji's panties.

Kaworu held his hands up very suddenly. "Whoops! Very sorry about that!"

Shinji's face turned an unhealthy tinge of red. "Eeeeeeeeek!"

Misato covered her ears at Shinji's shrill squeal. She watched with dispassionate curiosity as Shinji shoved Kaworu bodily off of her, before yanking the bottom of her dress down to cover the exposed parts.

"What do you think you're doing!" Shinji wailed, face red, eyes teary.

Kaworu held up his hands, defensively. "It was an accident! I swear!"

"Aren't you supposed to be out doing good deeds!" Shinji demanded. "What are you doing flying through the air like that!"

Kaworu smiled uneasily, scratching his cheek. "Ummm…it turns out being a Good Samaritan isn't as easy as I thought it would be…"

Shinji's face fell and Misato slapped her forehead with her palm. "You mean to tell me that you tried to 'help' someone and…?"

Kaworu's smile began to crack. "Honestly, why are people today so distrusting of strangers? Every woman I've approached has misinterpreted my intentions as being some kind of barbarian."

Misato sighed. "Well, you can't go around making offers to random strangers – people will think you're trying to sell them something illegal."

"Wait a minute," Shinji's eyes narrowed. "Why were you only approaching woman?"

Kaworu blinked in confusion. "Why would I offer my help to men? Men don't need help – they should be able to handle their problems on their own."

Misato's eyebrow twitched. "Are you some kind of misogynist or something?"

Shinji got to her feet. "Clearly you don't know a lot of guys around here."

Kaworu held his hands up. "Now, now, let's not go making assumptions about people and how many friends they have…"

Misato and Shinji both stared dumbfounded.

"Let me guess…" Misato crossed her arms. "You don't have any friends, do you?"

Kaworu hung his head. "What do you think? I've been kicked out of heaven, and the only two people I've been able to talk to for more than a minute think I'm a worthless incompetent."

Shinji crossed her arms. "You haven't exactly given us reason to suspect otherwise."

Misato glanced at her watch. "Damn it, we're going to be late at this rate! Shinji, we gotta get to school."

Shinji started. "Oh man, I totally forgot!"

Kaworu blinked. "School?"

Misato rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you know, education, gaining knowledge, learning you're a, b, c's…"

Shinji glanced at her watch and nearly panicked. "We don't have time for explanations, Misato!"

Kaworu got up and followed them. "Wait…don't leave me here! Let me come with you!"

Shinji gawked at him. "What! No way!"

Misato grabbed Kaworu by the arm. "Actually…this could work to our advantage…" She threw a look at Shinji. "That way he could help out at school, _and_ we could keep an eye on him so he doesn't mess up like the last god knows how many times."

Shinji pursed her lips. She had not enjoyed being felt up one bit.

"Ok, fine…but if he cops a feel on me again, I'm gonna sick Asuka on him."

Misato cocked her head. "You sure you'll be able to do that? This Asuka doesn't seem to like either of us that much. Heck, she'd probably order popcorn if she saw something like that."

Shinji clenched her eyes as they all ran to school.

"Oh, man! I want things to go back to the way they were before! And that's pretty sad, considering the way things were before!"

They made it to school with a surprising amount of time to spare. They changed their shoes and headed to the classroom, where Rei was already seated, but Asuka was nowhere in sight.

Misato leaned over to whisper to Shinji. "That Horaki girl is the class rep, right?"

Shinji nodded, confused.

Misato smiled. "Well, Kaworu needs _some _kind of excuse to be here…"

She walked over to the class representative, who looked to be in the midst of a conversation with a fellow classmate.

"Representative Horaki?" Misato asked politely, getting her attention. "I'm sorry for missing school yesterday, I was ill."

Hikari nodded, smiling politely in return. "That's fine, Katsuragi. Your assignments are on your desk."

Misato nodded and bowed. "Thank you. Also, NERV has sent in a new pilot to Tokyo-3. I don't know if you got the paperwork yet, but he's been enrolled in our class…"

She waved over to Kaworu, who was standing outside the door, who smiled and waved at her gesture.

"A new student, huh?" Hikari smiled. "That'll brighten everyone's spirits, I hope. So many students are leaving, it'll be a nice change of pace for a new one to arrive."

Once everyone was seated, Kaworu scribbled his name on the chalkboard and smiled to the class as he introduced himself.

"Nagisa Kaworu, nice to meet you."

Half the girls were swooning over him as Hikari pointed him towards the set next to Shinji, who sat right in front of Misato (which she had skillfully deduced was her seat by discretely inspecting the names on the assignments placed within).

The teacher of course didn't even acknowledge that anything was new, and by the time lunch break came around, there was a crowd of girls surrounding Kaworu's seat with polite (and impolite) inquiries.

"Grrrr…" Misato glared at the so-called Angel as he soaked up the attention of the female student body. "Who does he think he is anyway?"

Shinji quietly picked at her food. She was just grateful that Kaworu's arrival drew attention away from herself and Misato. "Do you think perhaps Kaworu is a Casanova?"

Misato gritted her teeth together. "I'm trying very hard not to accept that as a possibility. If I do, it means that our only hope for getting our lives back is in the hands of that incompetent playboy!"

"You talking about that new guy?" Asuka said nonchalantly as she walked by, taking a bite from her sandwich. "He's pretty cute, huh?"

Misato crossed her arms very suddenly. "I fail to see the attraction."

Shinji just blushed.

"Hmmm…" Asuka shrugged. "He's no Kaji, but he's definitely a step up from the usual crowd…" she cast a disparaging glance over towards Toji and Kensuke.

Misato stiffened at the mention of Kaji's name. She hadn't even spared him a though since this whole fiasco had started.

"Besides…" Asuka glowered, leaning into Shinji, the poor girl's blush all too apparent. "He seems to have caught the eye of our little Shin-chan at least!"

Shinji stiffened very suddenly. "What! No! No, no, no! I am _not _thinking about him like that!"

Misato gave Shinji a weird look. Asuka just sort of smiled.

"My…someone seems rather defensive…" she snickered. "Bet you've been fantasizing about him _all_ morning…I saw how you couldn't keep your eyes off him…"

"That's not it!" Shinji shrieked, her feminine face bright red.

"What's all the noise?" Kaworu said, wandering over, half the class still hot on his heels. "Shina, right? What's the matter?"

Shinji's face blanched. "K-Kaworu!"

She absolutely froze up. She wanted nothing more than to punch the guy where he stood. She wanted to scream at Kaworu for putting her in this situation. But at the moment, all she could think of was how Kaworu was suddenly an icon for every female in his class, and that she was in a girl's body, and that he was talking to her while she was like this, and…

"Go on," Asuka snickered behind her back. "Tell him about how you want him to make you into a real woman."

Kaworu blinked in surprise. "Oh? Is that what she really wants?"

Shinji crumpled. Her mind practically shut down. She couldn't take it.

"That's enough!" Misato got up and put her hand on Shinji's shoulder. She threw Asuka a dirty look. "Mind your own business, Soryu…"

Asuka just harrumphed, like she knew she had nothing to apologize for. "What are you yelling at me for? She's just _so_ obvious about it."

"And you…" Misato glared at Kaworu. "Don't forget what you're supposed to be doing!"

Kaworu gave her his best innocent smile as Misato put her arm around Shinji's shoulders and took her out of the classroom.

Kaworu put his hands on his hips. "Heh…do you think those two are on the down low?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "You know, sometimes I wonder…"

Misato took Shinji to the nurse's office, letting herself in to find no one there.

"Probably out getting coffee or something," Misato mused, somewhat relieved to have a moment of privacy.

"I'm sorry…" Shinji said, head still buried in her hands, quaking in anxiety.

"Don't be," Misato said, her hand on her back. "It's tough being a teenage girl. You've only bit off a little bit of it, but girls have to put with this sort of thing all the time. Even I had my fair share of this in college, and that was when we were supposedly 'more mature.'"

Shinji shivered. "I thought Asuka would be nicer to me now that I was a girl…but now, it's almost worse…"

Misato tried to make light of the situation. "Well, at least she's not gender biased…"

Shinji laughed, but it came out more as a sniffle.

"I'm sorry…" Shinji muttered again while Misato went to get a tissue for Shinji to wipe her nose. "You had to get involved in order to protect me. Misato, you and Ritsuko and Asuka and Rei…you all go through this every day…and you act so casual about it. But I…it happens to me just once, and…"

"Shhhh…" Misato offered her a tissue. "I told you before, didn't I? We've both got to look out for each other now."

Shinji nodded, accepting the offered tissue and wiping her face.

Misato put her arms around Shinji's shoulders. She doubted she'd have ever done this for Shinji when she was a guy, but then she had also been fifteen years her senior then. Then again, inside, they were still the same, weren't they? Shinji was still a guy on the inside, and Misato was still an adult. True, they both had the bodies of teenage girls, but that didn't change the fact that she still knew calculus, spoke three different languages, and retained most of her combat training - although she doubted her effectiveness in the physical aspect, as she was not entirely used to her body the way it was, she still knew how to disassemble and clean a 9-millimeter. No teenager in that classroom could boast that.

Though, Asuka was a special case.

And Shinji was still the same timid guy on the inside - of course, now that everyone thought she was a girl, no one thought her timidness was in any way out of the ordinary. She still thought like a guy though, and retained her male tendencies of trying, if weakly, to be chivalrous, and still found it embarrassing to be this close to a pretty girl…

Misato released her grasp on Shinji as she realized just what she was doing to her.

"Ummm…" Misato smiled, uneasily. "Sorry!"

Shinji, whose face had previously been buried between Misato's not inconsiderable assets, was practically bleeding at the nose. "Ooahhhh…"

"Ack!" Misato said, grabbing for another tissue. "Don't pass out on me, Shinji!"

As Misato tried to clean up the blood running down Shinji's nostrils, to which she reacted by flailing around haplessly, there came a knock at the door.

Both girls froze.

"Pilot Ikari, Pilot Katsuragi," there came a voice from behind the door. It was Rei! "There's been an emergency call. We're needed at the Geo-Front."

There was another pause as Misato and Shinji exchanged puzzled glances.

"I'm going on ahead," Rei announced through the door, before the sound of footsteps tapering away.

Another pause.

Then Shinji and Misato both sprung to their feet, looks of panic on their faces.

"AN ANGEL ATTACK!"

Both pilots dashed out of the nurse's office and made a break for NERV as fast as they could go. On the way there, Kaworu sidled up beside them.

"Kaworu!" Shinji blurted. "What are you doing here?"

"You should go to the shelter with the others!" Misato commanded.

"But there's an Angel attack," Kaworu said calmly.

"That's why you should go to the shelter!" Misato retorted.

"But they'll need my help at NERV a lot more than in the shelter," Kaworu reasoned idly.

Shinji and Misato were running flat out, and nearly out of breath by the time they got to the elevators. Kaworu hadn't even broken a sweat.

"Anyway, you can't follow us," Shinji panted as she fished into the unfamiliar pockets of his girl's school uniform for her ID. "You can't get past the doors without an ID."

"You mean one of these?" Kaworu held out a NERV ID badge with his picture and name on it.

"Where did you get one of those!" Misato blurted.

"Huh?" Kaworu asked as he swiped his card, the door buzzing open. "I'm the Fifth Child after all."

Misato and Shinji both stood in abject stupor as the gray haired boy disappeared behind the doors.

A few moments passed as the gravity of his revelation sunk in.

"Misato…" Shinji chimed in idly. "You told the Class Rep that he was a new pilot, didn't you?"

Misato nodded, blankly. "Yeah, but I was just making that up. I didn't think she'd check, and I didn't think he actually WAS an Eva Pilot…"

"Misato…" Shinji added. "Are we in trouble?"

"I think…" Misato bit her lip. "We might be…"

By the time they both got to the locker room, Asuka and Rei were already in their plug suits.

"Jeez, you guys sure took your time!" Asuka observed on her way out. "Hope this Angel hasn't interrupted your little lesbian make-out session."

Shinji tripped and fell. Misato gave Asuka a disgusted look. "Our WHAT?"

Asuka grinned, her nose in the air. "See you two lovebirds on the battlefield!"

Misato wrinkled her nose as Asuka departed. "You know Shinji, I never really appreciated just how much of a bitch she was to her fellow pilots before…"

She looked down to Shinji lying awkwardly on the floor.

"Oh, Shinji, are you alright?" Misato offered her hand to the boy in the girl's body.

Shinji's blush only increased. "No, no! I'm fine…" she got to her feet and stumbled away from her, quickly finding her locker.

Misato stared at her oddly. "Shinji?"

"Do not be affected by Pilot Soryu's words," Rei said as she passed them by, in full plug suit. "Idle banter is commonplace among soldiers about to go into battle."

Misato and Shinji both watched, somewhat stunned by Rei's words.

"Regardless," she continued, deadpan. "I am happy for the two of you."

Shinji and Misato's faces went beet red.

"Farewell," Rei capped her soliloquy as she left the locker room.

Shinji and Misato both threw their plug suits on at lightning speed, both too focused on Rei's misconception to notice each other's nudity.

"Wait, Ayanami!" Shinji shouted pleadingly as she hurried out of the locker room, although Rei was nowhere in sight. Misato was close behind as the two of them ran to Terminal Dogma, to find the other pilots waiting by the cages.

Misato's knees nearly gave out. "No way…"

"Good, now that we're all here, I have a quick announcement to make."

Misato hadn't really come to terms with her father being alive. But she had at least been prepared to face him again.

"As you are all no doubt aware by now, we have a new pilot."

She could have at least faced her father today – he was a scientist though, and wouldn't be interacting with her when she faced the horrors of piloting Evangelion.

"This is Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child. He'll be our second backup pilot after Ayanami. Please try to work together."

Standing there, besides Kaworu, was Asuka's current guardian and NERV's Operations Director, Captain Ryoji Kaji.

Misato felt like she was about to pass out.

"You've got to be kidding me…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Four

Misato's mind was blank as she stepped into her entry plug. She didn't care that she stumbled or that she was slower than the rest of the pilots, or that she had to be "reminded" of half the things that she should have known as a pilot.

Kaji…

He wouldn't even look at her like this. She was half his age now! And he was her Operations Director, which meant that she would taking orders from him directly until this whole misfile blew over, an eventuality that was looking farther and farther away.

"Katsuragi?"

Misato's blood ran cold. His voice was so familiar, so real – he called her name just the way he used to before…

"Katsuragi, what are you doing?" Kaji's voice sounded concerned and kind of angry. "Your sync rate is less than 25%. Wake up!"

Misato started. "R-right!"

Misato stared at the controls of her Eva like they were an alien landscape. They WERE an alien landscape! She had never truly been inside an Eva before! Sure, she might have previously in this lifetime, but never in her experience! She hadn't even gotten a sync test in, for christ's sake!

Oh God, she was going to die! She had no idea how to fight in this Eva, no idea how to even make it start up…

"Misato!" Shinji's face patched through the private channel. "You don't have to pilot! You can let Rei or Kaworu pilot for you…"

Misato blinked. "Sh-Shinji?"

Shinji smiled ironically. "I know what it's like…to be shoved into a pilot's seat with no prior training or any hope of surviving…"

Misato's blood ran cold. That's right…she had put Shinji in this exact same scenario. After just having met his father again for the first time, with no experience, no training, and no warning, she had shoved him, every way but bodily, into the seat of an Evangelion.

Misato clutched the controls. "I can't run away, Shinji…I can do this. I'm the First Child, remember? If I back down, NERV is going to grow suspicious. Besides…"

She inhaled the LCL. It was a strange, gooey substance that smelled like blood.

"Kaji's watching me…" Misato bit her lip. "I can't screw up. This is my moment. I've got to show him what I can do…"

Shinji blinked incredulously. "Do you hear yourself, Misato? You're turning into Asuka!"

Misato released the controls. He was right! What was she doing? She was smarter than this! She was letting her feelings get the better of her! But why? She was still an adult! True, she was an adult in a teenager's body, but…

She glanced down at her body. That was it! She had a teenager's hormones! They were messing with her head! Ordinarily, she'd be rational and calculating, but now…now, she was acting like an emotionally fragile egotist.

Like Asuka.

Her mind went blank. And Unit 00 shut down.

"I…I can't do this…" she announced over the intercom. "I…I don't know…something's wrong…"

Kaji's voice sounded over the background as he ordered Unit 00 reconfigured for Ayanami.

"They're going to notice something is up," Shinji warned over the intercom. "First a missed sync test, and now a failed launch? They'll put you on medical review."

Misato sighed, relieved and anxious. "What else can I do, Shinji? I can't pretend I know how to pilot, not while the world's at stake. Right now, no matter how good a pilot I may have been in this lifetime, Rei's a better pilot than I am. When I sent you out on your first sortie, there was no other choice. Now there is – Rei is perfectly fit to pilot Eva, and Kaworu…well, I don't know. But I'm not the woman for the job. Not right now, when I have no recollection of piloting Eva, and I'm still in shock, not only from seeing my father, but with Kaji being my Operations Director…"

Shinji's expression was grim. In a way, she had hoped Misato would be fighting next to her. Despite the validity of all her arguments for her not doing so, Shinji trusted her, and felt more confident with Misato besides her. Selfishly, she had looked forward to piloting Eva, not with her sitting on the sidelines and giving orders, but riding shotgun right there with her.

But she had to consider her feelings too. Not to mention the dangers of having an inexperienced – and therefore, ineffectual pilot as a wingman.

"Ok Misato…I'll trust your judgment," Shinji offered a weak smile. She still had an Angel to fight. "We've got to look after each other, after all."

Shinji placed her feminine hand against the view screen of his com link with Misato. Misato returned the gesture, and she found herself suddenly struck with a pang of regret that Shinji wasn't a boy anymore.

She shook her head. She WAS a boy…and more importantly, MISATO was an adult, AND Shinji's guardian. She shivered at the prospect of where her mind was headed. These hormones of hers were going to get her into serious trouble if she wasn't careful.

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there is nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

Misato sat in a medical examination room. She had already been examined by an attending physician so now all that remained was a psychiatric evaluation.

"R-Ritsuko!" Misato gaped as the doctor stepped into the examination room.

Dr. Akagi set the file she was holding on the desk, looking like she could care less for its contents. "Yes, Misato…try not to faint."

Misato puffed out her cheeks. "I don't exactly think you fall into the impartial and unbiased category."

Ritsuko's expression was anything but pleased. "I've known you longer than your own father, Misato. Hell, I practically raised you."

Misato crossed her arms. As surprising as Ritsuko's revelation was, it also made Misato very aware of how shaky her position was – she had no basis of what had supposedly happened in her life for the past fourteen years. Kaworu's misfile had supposedly wiped off fifteen years of her life, but as far as recollection went, he may as well have wiped the slate clean.

"I still don't think you're the best person for this part of the examination," Misato muttered, stubbornly.

Ritsuko crossed her arms. "The thing is, Misato…I don't think this is as complicated as you're making it out to be. This is about me, isn't it?"

Misato blinked. "I…what?"

Ritsuko sighed. "Look, I know I haven't been the best guardian, and with all my work here at NERV, sometimes I forget that I'm supposed to be a role model for you…"

Misato groaned. "No, no, look…you've got it all wrong…I don't blame you for anything. You have a lot of other responsibilities that are more important than me."

"Misato, don't say that," Ritsuko frowned.

Misato shook her head. "What I mean is, you didn't have to take me into your home. You could have just sent me off to one of the dormitories or something."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "In second grade? You could barely tie your shoes."

Misato fidgeted. This was going to take some guesswork and a lot of deduction. "My point is, you've done right by me. This isn't about you."

Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "Then what is it? A boy?"

Misato flushed. "No, it's not a boy!"

Ritsuko pursed her lips. "Are you sure? Misato, I think it's time we had a little talk…"

Misato's face fell. "Oh, God, tell me you're not trying to explain the facts of life to me…"

Ritsuko frowned. "I'm no idiot, Misato – I know you know how everything works. What I need to know from you is if you're going to act responsibly if and when it happens."

Misato wanted to claw her way through the drywall. "God, why are you talking to ME about being responsible in a relationship! HE'S the one who abandoned his family!"

Ritsuko's eyes flew open. "He? Who?"

Misato's mouth went dry. She hadn't meant to say that. "I mean…nothing…"

Ritsuko took her by the arm. "No, Misato…tell me, who do you mean? Do you mean your father?"

Misato squeezed her eyes together. Of all the subjects she didn't want to talk about, this was the VERY last on her list, and with the LAST person she'd ever want to talk to about it!

"Listen," she groaned, turning to look away. She knew her hormones were getting the better of her, but she didn't care. "Just drop it!"

Ritsuko shook her head. "I'm not allowed to drop it, Misato…I have to figure out how your sync rate dropped from a 75% to a 25% overnight. It would take a SEVERELY traumatic event to bring about such a change, Misato, and if something like that has happened to one of MY pilots, let alone one of my charges, then I need to know about it!"

Misato felt cold. She WANTED to tell Ritsuko the truth – she was one of her most trusted friends – but she couldn't. Not in this world, where she was an emotionally unstable teenager playing in an adult world.

"I just don't get it…" Misato curled her knees up to her body. Ritsuko sat next to her on the cot. "He's one of the leading scientists here at NERV…why would he abandon me?"

Ritsuko blinked. "Abandon you? Misato what are you talking about?"

Misato began to cry. It had been such an enormous leap for her to accept Shinji into her household. It had drawn the two of them closer together than either of them could have wanted, imagined or anticipated. But all the same, she had never looked back. And she could only imagine what it had taken for Ritsuko to extend that same degree of generosity for her, even in this world. And from as far back as second grade? She could only respect that. So why couldn't her father…?

"It's not you…" Misato wept, her head falling onto Ritsuko shoulder. "It's not…you've been wonderful…but…why couldn't it be him…?"

Ritsuko didn't put her arm around Misato the way she had expected. Right then, she could have used the emotional support. Although she had twisted the story around to suit this particular world, the emotions behind the tears had been genuine.

But Ritsuko only stared at the girl.

"Misato…what's gotten into you? Have you forgotten?" Ritsuko stared at her with a look of incredulity and…was that anger?

"Forgotten what?" Misato asked through red, swollen eyes, suddenly worried.

Ritsuko fixed her with a piercing look.

"YOU were the one who abandoned HIM, Misato…" Ritsuko stated as though she were reminding her.

Misato's heart sank. "…What?"

"Have you…" Ritsuko's brows knit in calculation. "Have you blocked the memory out? I understand that it was a trying time for you, but…oh, God, all this time…"

Misato shook her head. "What? What have I forgotten!"

She was tired of playing this guessing game. For all she knew, she might have royally screwed herself up.

Ritsuko sighed and got up from her seat beside Misato on the cot. "I'm going to need some coffee for this…"

She poured herself a cup and sat across from Misato in the examination room.

"It was about seven years ago," She began, sipping from her mug. "I had just started working here, alongside your mother, your father, Captain Kaji, and Shina's father, the Commander…"

Misato swallowed. She would have to inquire about Kaji later.

"Your father and I were both assistants to my mother…" Ritsuko lit a cigarette. "We were beginning activation tests on the Evas…and your mother…was Unit 00's test pilot…"

Misato's eyes flew open.

It couldn't be…

"There was an accident…a cross-flow feedback, a reversal of the primary ignition…" Ritsuko stopped when she realized Misato wouldn't understand her. "Do you not remember any of this? She…her body was missing. She was presumed deceased."

Misato's mouth was dry. It was…just like Shinji's mother. Just like…

"You never forgave your father after that day…" Ritsuko said, not even looking at Misato anymore. "You refused to live under the same roof as him. I…I volunteered to take you in. I…it's what my mother would have done…but she had…"

Ritsuko swallowed a lump in her throat.

"She had…retired early..."

Misato knew the story of course, but she imagined that this Ritsuko hadn't shared this particular story with her younger self. She saw no reason to disillusion that sentiment.

Still…for Ritsuko to take her in after losing her mother…

"…Thank you, Ritsuko…" Misato mouthed.

Ritsuko smiled weakly. "You've never called me Ritsuko before…always Dr. Akagi…seriously, what's gotten into you? The other morning, you woke up and looked at me like I was a complete stranger. And now it's like you've never seen an Eva before in your life."

Misato shook her head. The time for sentimentality had passed. She could think about her father and Kaji more later. It was time to think about her cover.

"I don't know…" Misato bit her lip. "It was just a lapse. A fluke. I just need to train harder. I'll try to do better, Ritsu…um…Dr. Akagi…"

"Ritsuko's fine," the doctor said, sipping her coffee. It was strange – they had lived together since the age of seven, and yet had always been at arms length. She was more of a foster mother than a stepmother. But even foster mothers spent more time with their charges than she did. "I was serious about trying to be a better guardian for you, Misato. I hope you can at least trust me."

Misato nodded. But she didn't trust her. Couldn't. Even in her own life, she knew that Ritsuko kept secrets, even from her close friends. But that didn't change the fact that she deeply wanted to…

"Can I go now?" Misato asked, wiping her eyes.

Ritsuko nodded. "Just let me sign you out…"

Misato fled the seclusion of the medical wing. She found Shinji waiting for her on a bench. She still hadn't changed out of her plug suit, which clung fetchingly to her female form.

"Did…" Shinji asked, looking up. "Did she suspect anything?"

Misato put on her best smile. "Nothing any sane person wouldn't suspect. Boy troubles, father issues, mother issues…I'm just about sick of having to think about all this shit…"

She looked at Shinji and smiled, this time much more convincingly.

"Go get changed," she ordered. "Let's go get some ice cream or something."

Shinji's face brightened up. "Ok!"

Misato waited for Shinji to change outside the locker room. As she waited, Asuka strode by, carrying her school bag.

"Heh…what are you still doing here?" Asuka crowed. "Haven't they pulled you off the roster yet? I mean, losing out to Wonder Girl…ouch! I guess the Evas don't take kindly to their pilots laying with other women."

Misato's eyebrow twitched. "Asuka…I am NO mood to put up with your shit right now…"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Jeez, sorry…you know, you're not exactly the easiest to put up with, either. You always act like you're our mother or something."

Misato snorted. "Well, maybe it's because you all need one. By the way, why are you still living with Kaji? Aren't you old enough to room by yourself?"

Asuka's grin widened. "What's the matter? Want me out of the way so you can take a shot at him? I thought you weren't into guys!"

Misato refused to let Asuka's bantering get to her. "What I'm saying is, people are going to start to talk."

Asuka gloated. "What, you mean like people already talk about you and Shina? Honestly, do you two EVER go anywhere without each other?"

Misato crossed her arms. "You just LOVE to make assumptions, don't you? That's all you ever seem to do, since you don't know anything about us."

"What's there to assume?" Asuka countered. "You sit next to each other in class, walk each other to school, you live in the same house, and your dyke of a guardian is hardly ever home to begin with! God KNOWS what goes on in that house of yours!"

Misato wanted so badly to slap her right that moment. It was bad enough that she would insinuate that she was doing things with Shinji in her girl's body, but insulting Ritsuko? She had half a mind to scratch her face off!

But she refused to. She refused to be the aggressor and be the one charged with assault. So she changed tacks.

"I should have figured a girl who has no friends could only see that sort of thing as carnal lust."

Asuka glowered. "EXCUSE me?"

"After all," Misato said, calmly. "She spends all her time pining for an older guy who's NEVER going to acknowledge her feelings. As fixated as she is on this guy, I guess it's only natural that all she understands is sexual desire. Things like friendship, companionship and trust…these are beyond her frail grasp. All she cares about is who's fucking who. Which is ironic, considering she's still a virgin!"

"WHY…YOU…" Asuka raged. "FUCK YOU!"

Asuka stormed off down the hall.

"Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Misato crowed after her.

The locker room door opened shortly after.

"Was that Asuka I heard screaming?" Shinji asked curiously, showered and dressed in her feminine school uniform.

"Guess so," Misato brushed it off. "Now, about that ice cream…"

Shinji wasn't quite satisfied with her response to her earlier inquiry, but Misato gave her little choice in the matter as she practically dragged her (a task made easy by Shinji's slight frame, guy or girl) towards the elevators.

"So…why ice cream, all of the sudden?" Shinji asked.

"Well…" Misato stretched her arms once the elevator doors had closed. "Seeing as how I can't indulge in my previous form of recreational substance, it looks like sugar and caffeine are my only reasonable alternatives. And since YOU can't be trusted to wake up at a reasonable hour, caffeine is out of the question for me – we won't be able to sleep, and I'll sleep through my alarm clock like you always do anyway, and then we'll BOTH be late for school! So sugar's the only thing left for me. Don't worry – my treat!"

She winked playfully.

Shinji blushed. "I guess…it just…feels kinda like a date…so I wasn't sure if you really wanted to or not…"

Misato pursed her lips. She'd had enough of Asuka's bullshit about her being a lesbian. Girls hung out all the time, after all! Girls did each other's hair and makeup, and even took baths together! Girls could easily get away with sleeping in the same bed, and even practicing kissing each other without it being called "lesbianism." So what right did Asuka have to be pointing fingers? Misato and Shinji hadn't even done anything remotely sexual!

And even if they had…it's not like Shinji was really a girl. Underneath the girl's body, she was still a boy, and would remain a boy! That's right - no matter what skin she dwelled in, Shinji was Shinji! She was the same! And so was Misato! The only differences were caused by Kaworu's stupid misfile!

Kaworu…where HAD he gone anyway?

Misato shrugged it off. Forget it – she was sick of dealing with this paranormal shit! She just wanted to have a nice, relaxing evening with Shinji.

She caught herself blushing. This kind of was like a date. True, Shinji was in a girl's body, but did that really change who she was? She was still a boy underneath, and it's not like she was particularly threatening as a boy. Now, she was even less so. But she was still the same sweet, caring soul she'd always been.

And true, Misato was in a younger body, but that just made it easier to accept on the outside. No one would question it, and even Shinji had to be put at ease by the apparent lack of an age gap between them now.

But Misato was still herself underneath. She was still an adult. She was still his guardian. So sure, it was fun to pretend to be a high school girl, and take her boyfriend out on a date. But as fun as this little dream world of hers was, when they all woke up, would they all remember it?

Aw, screw it – it was just ice cream for crying out loud!

"Don't be looking a gift horse in the mouth, Shinji," Misato patted her on the back a little harder than she needed to. "Just go with it!"

Shinji grunted uncomfortably. "R-Right…"

As the elevator doors opened, Rei appeared, waiting to board.

"Oh," Shinji blurted. "Ayanami!"

Rei nodded, before turning to Misato. "I must apologize for my earlier misconception, Pilot Katsuragi. Pilot Ikari explained to me that you two are not romantic with each other. Forgive my incorrect assumption."

Shinji let out a breath of air, before Misato's arm slinked around Shinji's shoulder, her face plastered with a foxy smile.

"Awww, are you being coy with the other pilots, Shina?" Misato said, adopting Shinji's girl name. "She's just so shy about these things…"

Shinji's face lit up. "M-M-M-Misato!"

Misato pressed her index finger against Shinji's sternum, right between the breasts, while her other hand snaked its way up to cop a feel on her left breast.

Shinji's eyes clenched tightly as Misato's touches sent shivers down her spine. For a purportedly straight girl, something in the back of Shinji's mind noticed, she knew a surprising number of ways to turn another girl on.

Rei simply blinked in confusion. "I fail to comprehend…are you two romantic or are you not?"

Shinji shook her head, stammering incoherencies.

"Go on Shina," Misato whispered into the poor girl's ear, pinching her earlobe between her lips. "Tell her the truth…"

Shinji flailed madly, trying to dislodge the girl's grip on her slight frame. "Misato! Stop it!"

Misato released her prisoner, dashing off the elevator past Rei, giggling wildly.

Shinji panted for breath, clenching her arms to her chest, instinctively protecting her breasts.

Rei glanced back and forth between the two, before nodding. "I believe I understand now…Pilot Katsuragi enjoys teasing you, much like Pilot Soryu."

Shinji pursed her lip, not sure whether she should agree with any comparison between Misato and Asuka. But then again, had Shinji not said earlier that day that Misato was behaving much like Asuka had?

She nodded.

"Contrary to Pilot Soryu though," Rei continued. "You don't seem to dislike Pilot Katsuragi's teasing quite as much."

Shinji blushed, biting her lip, shaking her head. "I don't…"

"I see…" Rei nodded. "Thank you for clearing up the misconception for me, Pilot Ikari."

Shinji nodded as Rei stepped onto the elevator.

Shinji walked off, before turning around to catch the door. "Oh, yeah…Misato and I were going to get some ice cream. Why don't you come with us?"

Rei blinked in surprise. "I am sorry. I am not available at this time…"

Shinji nodded. "Oh…I see…"

Rei's expression softened as the doors drifted closed. "Perhaps another time…"

Shinji's eyed widened in surprise at Rei's statement. Then he smiled. Maybe today wasn't a total loss after all.

"Hey, Shinji, you coming?" Misato yelled from down the hall. "I'm not gonna wait for you forever! I need my ice cream fix, pronto!"

Shinji hoisted her bag over her shoulder. No, today wasn't a loss at all.

"I'm on my way!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Five

"So this is how it breaks down," Kaworu said as they walked to school the next day. Shinji walked beside him with Misato in between them, acting as a protective barrier between the two, an unspoken agreement between the two girls.

"In the year 2000, Second Impact occurs," Kaworu began with his finger in the air. "In the following months, Gehirm is formed, lead by Gendo Ikari, with Dr. Katsuragi and Naoko Akagi as its leading scientists. Misato Katsuragi is born. In 2007, the activation experiment for Unit 00 results in the tragic loss of Dr. Katsuragi's wife, leaving her daughter as the future First Child. Traumatized by her mother's death, the First Child blames her father, and runs away for a time before Section Two brings her in. Out of the goodness of her heart, or perhaps simply in an effort to resolve the matter, Dr. Akagi decides to accept legal custody of the First Child."

Misato gritted her teeth. Having Ritsuko's generosity called into question really put her off.

"So how do you know all this?" Shinji asked, looking skeptical. "And don't say it's because you're an angel."

Kaworu shrugged. "I AM in charge of a cosmic filing system. Managing data is one of my many skill sets."

Shinji only scowled. She wasn't walking with Kaworu out of any particular enjoyment of his presence. True, he seemed friendly enough, but he didn't seem to put as much weight on the situation as Shinji would have deemed appropriate.

"What about…" she said softly, her eyes hiding behind her bangs. "What about _my_ mother?"

"It's like I said," Kaworu said, a look of honest sympathy in his eyes. "Everything is as close to the world you came from as it possibly can be."

Shinji chewed on her lip. She had suspected as much, but with all the surprises they had been subject to, for all he knew, she had simply been living somewhere by herself.

"Hey, it's alright," Misato said, noticing Shinji's forlorn expression. "Just think of it as something familiar."

Shinji managed a weak laugh. "Yeah…familiar…"

Kaworu strode along besides them. "Look on the bright side – at least things can't get any worse…"

No sooner had the word left his mouth when…

"Look out!"

Toji Suzuhara came bolting from an intersecting sidewalk and plowed right into Shinji, toppling her (and himself) unceremoniously onto the pavement.

"Waaaaagh!" the boy let out a holler as he leapt off the girl, his hand invariably having landed somewhere it hadn't been supposed to. "I'm sorry, Ikari!"

Without any further ado, Toji took off in the direction of the school.

Misato helped Shinji to her feet. "You alright?"

Shinji winced. "I don't remember Toji ever being concerned with getting to class on time before…"

"Maybe he's trying to meet someone…" Misato suggested, before throwing Kaworu a dirty look. "You _had _to say it, didn't you?"

Kaworu shrugged helplessly. "Something else to add to my ever growing list of things not to do around you then…"

Misato rolled her eyes, oblivious to Shinji's growing blush as she held her up. "Let's just get going…"

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there is nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

School proceeded in a predictable fashion. The teacher was oblivious. Rei was silent. Toji and Kensuke acted like geeks. Asuka was boisterous. And Kaworu stole the heart of every student without a Y chromosome (and even some students who had one).

This of course inevitably lead to competition. Which of course eventually got Shinji and Misato involved, despite every effort on their part to avoid such confrontation.

"Why are you even wasting your time with them, Nagisa?" Asuka was asking the boy. "They clearly don't drive stick."

Misato, standing over the unresponsive and red-faced Shinji, put her hands on her hips. "Don't you have anything better to do, Asuka? "

Kaworu held his hands up. "Now, now, ladies…there's no need for hurtful comments…"

"Settle down you guys," Hikari looked up from sorting through class documents, but was otherwise unavailable to act as diplomat.

As Shinji and Misato retreated to the ladies room, they were granted a reprieve from Kaworu's sickening allure or the other boys' curious stares. But not from Asuka's mouth.

"What's the matter with her?" Asuka asked snidely, arms crossed as Shinji leaned over the sink. "Did she finally hit puberty or something?"

"You really don't know when to step off, do you Asuka?" Misato accused, standing in between the redhead and her roommate.

"I don't even know where to begin with you, Katsuragi," Asuka smirked. "Every time she's in trouble, you're always there to hold her hand. Honestly, I don't even have to make jokes about it anymore."

"Exactly – you don't," Misato stared back at her. "If you ask me, you never had to begin with. But if you keep it up, and Shina can't pilot as a result, do you really think no one will know that you were to blame?"

Asuka's eyes wavered. "If you think you can squeal on me…"

"I won't have to," Misato waved her arms around. "You don't think Section Two has this entire school monitored? Think, Asuka – you're smarter than that."

Asuka's nose wrinkled as her gaze flickered between the sterling First Child and withering Third Child.

"Fine," she relented. "Ikari's no competition for me anyway…"

Asuka turned to go.

"But you and me? We are _so_ not done yet…"

Misato frowned as she disappeared out the door. She let go of a breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"I don't care anymore…" Shinji muttered, her eyes hidden behind her hair. "I'm done trying to put up with her. She's no different than before. She's…no, she's even worse now. I don't know why I ever held out hope that she could be my friend…"

Misato grabbed some tissues from the sink and offered them to Shinji, who took them gratefully.

"It's like…" Shinji wiped her nose. "Is my entire purpose in life just to be her victim?"

Misato leaned against the sink. "Oh, don't think you're so special – she victimizes plenty of others too. I think I'm next on the chopping block for her."

Shinji tried to laugh, but it came out more like a sob.

"Asuka's a textbook bully," Misato explained, resting a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "She's not a bad person, really. She just puts on a show because she's actually a lot less confident than she seems. She looks at us, and all she sees other people who could fill her shoes – at NERV, as a pilot, here at school, as the top ranked student, and with Kaji…who she probably sees as her future husband or something…" Misato closed her eyes for a moment, squelching the bitter feelings thinking about Kaji brought up, before opening them again. "She can't help but see the rest of us pilots as competition."

"But…I would never…"

"Of course you wouldn't…" Misato sighed. "And neither would I. But it's just how Asuka survives in this world."

Shinji shook her head. "Maybe that works for her…but are we supposed to put up with her _and_ piloting Eva? I don't know how much more of this I can take…"

"Looking on all this with fourteen years more experience than everyone else in this building puts a lot of things in perspective," Misato shook her head. "Believe me when I say that, down the line, you'll look back on all this and realize just how trivial it all is. No matter how badly your feelings get hurt…believe it or not, you'll manage to pull through in the end."

Misato squeezed Shinji's shoulder.

"It feels like the whole world is out to get you, but that's because right now, this _is _your whole world. _This_ is all your world consists of. I'd suggest branching out and getting proactive in extracurricular activities and all that, but right now, we're dealing with this stupid misfile."

Shinji shook her head weakly. She didn't see things from Misato's perspective – how could she? But she appreciated the sentiment, nevertheless.

And despite the latent masculine tendencies telling her to be strong despite herself, especially in the presence of a girl, there was a part of her that she had never experienced before, that not only found comfort in taking shelter behind another, but craved it, and didn't in any way feel ashamed by doing so.

It was…liberating…

It was also disturbing. To realize that there were situations where she was more comfortable than she had been as a guy. It made her feel like pushing Misato away. It made her feel like throwing up. She was growing more and more accustomed to her new body. And the more accustomed she got…the less she could recall about her previous life.

She was losing touch with herself. _Him_self.

"We should…" Shinji blushed, pulling away from the protective aura of his roommate. "We should get back to class…."

Misato blinked, not knowing if she had been being too friendly – as she often was with Shinji – or if Shinji was trying to avoid her somehow. Her blush made her seriously wonder, but she didn't get the chance to ask as she watched the girl push her way back out into the hallway.

xxxxx

Just as Misato said, the week went on, and life was manageable. Asuka kept her distance from them now, though the occasional death glare was lobbed at Misato, the older woman trapped in a teenager's body was above letting such things disturb her. Misato had twice the experience Asuka had, and though the redheaded German might have boasted a higher IQ, Misato had graduated from the same school, at the top of her class, and was not to be outshone in terms of social skills.

If Asuka thought she could trade blows with Misato – verbally or otherwise – she was in for a surprise.

It was the weekend now – Sunday to be precise – and Shinji was just starting to get a handle on taking baths, when the sound of her cell phone startled her out of the tub, fumbling for a towel, and barely catching the phone before it cut to voicemail.

"Shina?"

She nearly dropped the phone. Her hair dripped damply onto her back. Drops of water hit the linoleum floor as she stood in her bedroom, towel clutched haphazardly to her chest.

Her fingers began to clutch together unconsciously.

"D…Dad?"

"Where are you?" the voice said again, and once again, she nearly dropped the phone. "We expected you here half an hour ago."

Shinji's blood ran cold. Had she missed a sync test? She looked at the clock on the wall – she had another three hours until her sync test. And if she had missed it, she'd be getting a call from Ritsuko, not from the Commander of NERV.

"Wh…what?" Shinji stammered, helplessly. She honestly had no idea what her father was talking about.

"It's Sunday," Gendo clarified patiently. "Our weekly meal?"

This time, Shinji did drop the phone, which landed, thankfully, on a the towel which she also dropped a split second beforehand, falling to the floor in a wad, and providing a nice cushion for the cell phone to land on.

_Our weekly…meal?_

What did that even mean? Was she actually supposed to believe that she and her father had been sharing meals together? On a weekly basis? Since when? Where? And what else was going on between her and her father that she didn't know?

She had been standing, dripping and naked, in the middle of her room, eyes fixed on a speck on the wall, before she heard her father's voice coming in as a crackle through the receiver and her feet, and she instantly snapped back to reality, and scrambled for the phone again.

"Yes! Yes! I'm sorry, I was in the bathtub! I'm sorry to make you wait! Where is it again?"

She blinked. It had all come out at once. She hadn't known what she had been planning to say once the phone reached her lips. A part of her – a _very_ big part of her – wanted to scream at the man through her phone. This felt like a betrayal somehow…and she didn't even know why.

But she wanted to see him. She wanted to sit down and eat with her father, talk to him about everything, and be like a normal family, even if only once a week! The revulsion at the thought of saying no to _that_ overpowered every other instinct in her body, so much that she automatically placated herself over the phone to him.

Gendo sighed. "The NERV dining hall, the same place it's always been. Shina, are you feeling well?"

Shinji was already getting dressed with one hand – a challenge, seeing as how she was still inexperienced at donning women's clothing. "Oh, no-no! I'm fine! Really…"

The voice on the phone sounded unconvinced. "Is that so? Because Doctor Akagi informs me that your roommate had recently taken ill. It's possible that you may have contracted what she had."

Shinji was tugging on her school uniform – she didn't know what else to wear – and had the phone knocked between ear and shoulder. "I'll be sure to visit the doctor on the way home. I'm on my way!"

Her father sounded irate, but not overly so. "Be quick about it."

The line went dead midway between pulling her socks on. Shinji froze, looking at the cell phone in her hands, watching the flashing message saying "call ended," and the time duration, displaying "0:39" seconds. Quite unexpectedly, a droplet of water splashed against the plastic screen.

She reached up and touched her cheek. Tears? No…her hair was still wet. She grabbed her towel and began to furiously dry her hair. Her father wanted to have lunch with her! What in the world was she going to say? What would _he_ say? Shinji would have been too terrified to go if the clock hadn't been ticking.

Fifteen seconds later, she was pulling her shoes on and running out the door.

xxxxx

Misato and Shinji were walking home from the train station on the way from NERV, Misato with her hands laced behind her back, walking contently along as Shinji plodded with her head lowered.

"Hey," Misato spoke up, looking over to her roommate in curiosity. "You've been awfully quiet today…"

Shinji didn't stop walking, nor did she look up. "I'm just…distracted…"

Misato blinked, before her eyes flew open in concern. "Oh God! You're not having your period, are you?"

Shinji's face turned beat red. "What! No!"

"Are you sure?" Misato asked. There was no teasing in her voice. "You've been kind of moody all afternoon."

Shinji shut her eyes tightly. "It doesn't have anything to do with that, alright?"

Misato let out a frustrated sigh. "Then what? What's going on, Shinji?"

Shinji stopped walking. Misato stopped beside her. The sun was setting and the two of them cast long shadows along the sidewalk.

"Today…" Shinji's voice was thin and hollow. "Today, I had lunch with my father…"

Misato's went wide. "You…what? Seriously?"

Shinji stood perfectly still, staring a spot on the ground. The sound of cicadas roared around them. Shinji didn't say anything. She would have felt Misato's eyes on her, waiting for her to speak, if she hadn't been reliving that afternoon in her head.

"So?" Misato prodded inquisitively, leaning in closer. "How'd it go? What happened? He wasn't suspicious or anything…?"

Shinji swallowed and shook her head. Misato's proximity would have startled her and made her uncomfortable, but she was so lost in her thoughts, she barely perceived it.

"I…it…it went alright…" Shinji began, fiddling with the hem of her dress. "Ayanami was there too…apparently, we used to live together…like sisters…"

Misato's eyes were wide. She'd have to file that piece of information away for later exploration, but she was too focused on Shinji at the moment to delve into the implications of that little tidbit.

"We didn't…talk much at all…" Shinji fidgeted, her eyes lost under her hair. "He just…asked us how we were…asked us about school…and how our sync tests were going…"

Shinji's shoulder began to scrunch together, like she was taking a beating that no one could see.

"But we sat together…we ate together…he spent time with us…we'll be doing it again next Sunday…we've been doing it every Sunday since I came back…"

Misato's lips were hanging open. She could see tears running down Shinji's cheeks.

"He wasn't…he didn't say much…hardly more than he ever used to say to me…" Shinji's hands were clenching into fists. "But…we were a family…for half an hour, we were a family…"

Shinji couldn't speak any more because she was sobbing now, her tears coming down in rivulets. She kept crying even as Misato's arms came around her, to embrace her tightly, her own eyes shut tightly.

"Oh Shinji…"

Shinji kept crying. "Why? Why does this feel wrong? Like this shouldn't be happening? Like I shouldn't be enjoying this? I _should_ be enjoying this! So _why_?"

Misato held her even tighter, eyes still closed. She could understand that feeling all too well. "Because you're wondering why things aren't like this in your own world, Shinji…" her hands were stroking the girl's back. "You're wondering what makes the girl version of you so special to your father that he would take you in as a girl, and not as a boy…"

Misato disentangled their arms and took Shinji's face in her hands, touching their foreheads together.

"You're wondering why the boy version of you wasn't good enough for him…"

Hearing the truth of her feelings spelled out for her like that just made Shinji break down into another fit of bawling. Misato's fingers dug into Shinji's scalp as she pressed their foreheads together, as Shinji wept and wept and wept, her tiny voice, not so different from the way it sounded in their original world, quavering as she sobbed.

She wasn't cruel, Misato told herself. Telling Shinji why she was feeling the way she was had made the pain of the moment worse, but if she hadn't, she would have spent days, perhaps weeks wondering why. Now, all the pain that might have been dragged out amongst those days was overflowing like a broken dam, and soon it would be over.

"Shinji…" Misato's hands fell to hers, squeezing companionably. "Something like this happened with _me_ too…"

Shinji was staring back at her with watery eyes, mucus trickling down her nose. Her eyelids were red and baggy from tears, and she wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"I asked Ritsuko…why my father had left me…" Misato bit her lip, shyly. She had been chin deep in all of Shinji's problems until now, it was only fair that she be able to offload her own. But that still meant sharing something personal with her roommate and ward. It wasn't that she mistrusted her or wanted to keep her distance…but it was still personal.

"…It turned out that, in this timeline…_I_ was the one who ran away from _him_…"

Shinji sniffed back her tears. "Wh…what?"

Misato shrugged. "I have no memory of the past fourteen years of _this_ body, Shinji…and truthfully, neither do you."

Misato reached into her bag and found a handkerchief.

"It might just be that you _did something_, as a girl, something that you _didn't do_ as a boy, that bridged the gap between you two…"

The bridge of Shinji's nose was wrinkled as she pondered that possibility. It did make sense…if she could believe that she had been any more courageous as a girl than she had as a boy - which seemed counter intuitive.

"If…" Shinji took the handkerchief gratefully and wiped at her eyes, "If I wasn't brave enough to face him as a boy…then how…?"

Misato smiled encouragingly. "I don't think it's as simple as that. You may not have been very brave as a little boy, but you were brought up in a world that pressures boys to _be _brave."

Her hand came up to straighten Shinji's hair.

"As a girl growing up, I can tell you that we're _never _encouraged to handle things on our own; to always go to our fathers when we find things to be too difficult to handle…"

She took the handkerchief and dabbed at Shinji's face where she had missed.

"Boys are encouraged to solve problems on their own. So, growing up, you may have simply been pressured to not be perceived as a coward. Whereas, when you were growing up as a girl, you felt no such pressures…and in fact, were probably pressured in the exact opposite direction…"

Shinji was standing up straight again, blinking in the late afternoon sun. Her lips pressed together unsurely, but she had managed to stop crying.

"You may have reached out to him as a girl… even after he abandoned you, you still may have reached out to him. Maybe with a letter or a phone call… it doesn't really matter what, but maybe… maybe as a girl, your need for a father was greater than your need as a boy." Misato's eyes were hopeful. "Does that make sense?"

Shinji nodded at Misato's curious gaze, amazed that she had been able to present this situation as anything other than devastating, and equally amazed that she had been able to go from grief to acceptance so quickly as a result.

"You…" Shinji swallowed, a slight blush creeping over her face. "You always seem to know how just what to say to make me feel better, Misato…" she looked at the ground, her shoulders squishing together again, though this time, it was purely out of shyness. "Thank you…"

Misato nodded sweetly, and reached towards her to embrace the girl in her arms. Shinji managed to return the gesture, though not nearly with the same vehemence. As they held each other, Misato reflected on what had just transpired – how quickly she had jumped to Shinji's aid, though that was due to camaraderie born from being a fellow misfile victim, as well as their bond from beforehand. It was the 'beforehand' part that was starting to concern her, however. As a girl, being affectionate with Shinji did not feel strange nor in any way exciting, but if she had put her hands on Shinji as a boy as much as she had with her just now, she was sure Shinji would have curled into a ball or run away screaming.

And that worried her, for several reasons. She was getting much more familiar with Shinji than she ever would have asked for, and in ways that went beyond the bounds of friendship, and it was happening so naturally that she was having trouble even realizing it when she did it. There was no way this would not affect their relationship if and when this misfile finally got sorted out, and she was afraid – for more reasons than she cared to admit – of exactly _how_ that relationship would change.

But perhaps the most pressing concern was how this would affect Shinji as a person. For one thing, she seemed to be adapting to certain elements of her newfound femininity rather well. She had never been a particularly masculine boy, but she made an almost normal girl. And she was fitting into the expected submissive female role with astounding (and sometimes infuriating) readiness.

Even if they managed to change back…would Shinji still be the same boy she knew? Would she be the same person at all? And if her time as a woman _did_ have any lasting effects on Shinji as a man, would the affects be negative, or would she actually benefit from the experience? Would Shinji be granted a newfound woman's perspective on things that so many women accused men of lacking?

And more importantly, given how things were turning out and how well she fit in as a girl and how submissive she was now that the role was expected of her…if their cosmic data remained misfiled for too much longer, would Shinji even _want_ to change back?


	6. Chapter 6

**Evangelion Fan Fiction**

**Evangelion Misfile**

By Kraven Ergeist

Chapter Six

Kaworu was standing around in the Eva cages, where the massive hulks of the world's most advanced and powerful biomechanical weapons stood poised to deploy within a moment's command. He looked an odd sight in his school uniform, with everyone around him in some kind of jumpsuit or another, but they were all so used to seeing the pilots that Kaworu's presence was barely noticed.

He stood, staring across the catwalk at the purple Evangelion staring back at him. While his eyes were aimed at those of Unit 01 however, his concentration stretched far deeper.

"What do you mean, 'more trouble than I'm worth?'" he asked out loud, seemingly to no one.

There was a moment of silence, and his eyes narrowed, as though he was hearing something only his ears could pick up.

"You're the one who sent me here, Rumisiel!" he said, defensively. "My cover is that of an Evangelion pilot! What am I supposed to do, _not_ help them? I thought the whole point of my being here was to help these humans find their way!"

There was another moment of silence.

"I already told you!" Kaworu said, angrily. "I wasn't doing anything! I wasn't – hey, take it easy! I'm not – No, I'm not saying you're overly suspicious, I just think that you – no wait, don't –"

A light seemed to go out in Kaworu's eyes as though someone had just hung up on the cosmic phone line, and he hung his head, letting out a sigh.

"Damn it, old man…this isn't easy for me either…"

Looking defeated, Kaworu meandered back into the hallways of NERV. It was a long trek back up to the surface, and as he made his way to the elevator, he saw his Other, looking no more out of place than he did in her school uniform, waiting for the elevator to arrive.

When the doors, opened, they both stepped inside.

"Rumisiel does not seem to like you," Rei said, breaking the silence.

Kaworu shrugged. "I've noticed. Though I can't imagine why."

Rei's eyelids were lowered in a discreetly appraising look. "Perhaps you remind him of himself in his younger years. I understand he had a reputation as a…philanderer of sorts."

Kaworu chuckled at that. "I'm not _that_ bad, am I?"

Rei's brow furrowed. "I believe that the only reason you are not planning something untoward with me is because you are aware that I would kill you if you made such an attempt."

A bead of sweat appeared on Kaworu's forehead. "So scary! No wonder Shina's so afraid of you!"

Rei pursed her lips. "You never told me why Rumisiel sent you here in the first place."

Kaworu's smile turned nonchalant. "You're right. I didn't."

Rei closed her eyes, confidently. "I shall discover the truth sooner or later."

Kaworu crossed his arms. "Ignorance is bliss, Rei."

"I did not give you permission to use that name."

"I noticed that, Rei."

Rei spent the remainder of the elevator ride attempting to burn a hole in the back of Kaworu's head with her eyes.

* * *

_God's in his heaven, all's right with the world, but in one little corner of the universe, there's nothing more irritating than a misfile…_

* * *

Misato was beginning to grow less and less fond of this misfile. It wasn't that she was an Eva pilot now - she had made NERV into her whole life, and despite the subterfuge that went on beneath the surface, she still believed in its underlying cause, and had invested her entire life into backing that cause. As depressing as the thought was, NERV was still more home to her than anywhere else. And while being an Eva pilot was no picnic, the day mostly consisted of rote procedure, which was accomplished by memorizing protocol and executing, and that was something she'd been good at all her life.

What made things difficult was life outside of NERV. While she had been eager at first to experience the teenage life she'd never had, she was quickly discovering a big reason why perhaps all the Eva pilots were such psychological messes.

Being a teenager _sucked_!

It was more than simply being shorter, weaker and unfamiliar with her own body. It was the way adults tried to hold her to their standards, but didn't offer a tenth of the respect that came with it. It was the way her peers, like Asuka, compensated for this by claiming or pretending to have reached an adult level of maturity but acting even more childlike in the attempt to prove it. Or how others like Toji and Kensuke would rebel against this push towards maturity and cling to the trappings and pursuits of their age group. Others still, like Hikari, had accepted their role in their teenage life, and pandered to the rules and expectations of those in authority. While even Misato had to admit that this was probably the safest and most promising method of dealing with these tumultuous years, from her now teenage perspective, she couldn't help but wonder what Hikari had left behind, put aside, or downright sacrificed about her identity in order to get to where she was now.

And what made it worse for Misato was that she was still mentally an adult. It wasn't just that all the trivial prattle of high school gossip was mundane, trifling, and downright idiotic sometimes. It wasn't just that she could ace every test put in front of her and the homework put her to sleep. It wasn't just that she had already seen and done things that would have made every boy and girl in her classroom either blush or turn pale. It wasn't even that she wasn't into the same popular culture as her classmates.

It was that she had no one she could really talk to.

She didn't get along with anyone in this teenage life of hers. There was no one she could relate to. Not in that socially awkward, 'no one understands me' kind of way that most teenagers use to excuse their anti-social behavior. Misato could, on demand, hold a conversation, give or receive instructions, and work in a group to get a project or presentation done. She could hold her own in any classroom debate or argument, and frequently did. In fact, she almost never lost an argument now, because nobody in the entire class even knew half of what she knew.

She was simply wiser than everyone else now. Even Asuka, who boasted a higher I.Q. and a more prestigious diploma, couldn't outwit Misato, simply because of her lack of world experience. Granted, Asuka had seen more than her share, and presented the biggest challenge out of anyone in class. But Misato had been alive since 1987. Everyone else – every last student in that classroom – had been born post-Impact. Even if the misfile dictated otherwise, Misato still retained twenty nine years of experience to each of these students' fourteen, and that simply put her in a different category than any of them, whether she wanted it or not.

This, however, wasn't even what she minded most about the misfile.

One day during cross-feedback testing, she was sitting in Unit 00, waiting for Ritsuko to give her the all-clear to step out of the unit. Tired, restless and stiff from the day's testing, she wanted nothing more than to take a shower and march right on home, get some take out stir fry, ditch her homework, and plop down on the couch and vegetate in front of the television and maybe see if there was any ice cream left in the freezer, or try once again to fruitlessly hunt for Ritsuko's stash of alcohol – she was certain the older woman _must_ have some stowed away _somewhere_!

Then she saw him. Still as handsome as the day they'd met, and looking downright professional in his NERV issue suit jacket. She could still bring the memory of their first date to mind, right down to the smell of his aftershave. There was something different about him in this world. Maybe it was the fact that he was clean-shaven all the time now. Maybe it was the absence of his usual nonchalance in lieu of a professional, no-nonsense attitude that she had once worn so proudly whenever she put on the uniform in her other life. She wondered idly if he was still the same Kaji she remembered in the off-hours. But soon, she was reminded that there was someone in this world who would know this all too well.

Misato watched as Asuka practically skipped over to him from where she was standing by Unit 02. Her hair was still damp from LCL and she looked about as attractive as a drowned rat, Misato thought, but of course Asuka's suit still clung to her in all the right places. Misato's screen camera could zoom in on the scene but unfortunately had no microphone to catch what was being said. She could practically predict every word out of Asuka's mouth; it was Kaji's responses she was interested in. How did he treat Asuka when he thought no one else was looking? Did he play the coy bodyguard, always being friendly from a safe but just barely reachable distance that kept Asuka hot on his heels like the puppy on a leash?

Then Misato saw Kaji put his hand on Asuka's head and muss up her mop of damp venetian red hair. Asuka's face turned red and she pulled away, straightening her hair and mouthing out was most likely an indignant protest or complaint. Then Kaji pulled his head back and laughed, and it was like Misato was an undergrad all over again.

There he was. He was smiling. Laughing. It was love. It was…life was perfect. For that small, interminable stretch of time, she was happy. It was all she ever wanted, and it was something she could never go back to.

Now more than ever.

It wasn't fair! Back in her old life, she'd at least had the _option_ to throw away her resolve and lose herself in his arms all over again. Sure, she'd deny ever wanting to, she'd claim work was more important, that she had moved on, and that she didn't crave the feel of his lips against her collarbone. But what made it so easy to deny her feelings was the fact that the choice was still there. It was the knowledge that, with the drop of a hat, she could spin on a dime, and let him take her away.

Now, she didn't even have that. This Kaji wouldn't even _remember_ her the way she remembered him. She tried so hard to think of him as a different man than the one she'd loved. But that laugh, that smile…it was still the same under all of that. As hard as she tried, she couldn't _not _see it. As different as he was now - as stern, as serious, as impeccable, as responsible, as fatherly…

She felt herself blushing anew. He _was_ different. He was...he was even more of a man now. He was the Operation's Director of NERV. He was fighting for something more than himself. He had taken hold of the reins of his life, and had accomplished everything that she had in her other life. He had even adopted an Eva pilot, and taken on the mantle of guardian, a responsibility that she herself could barely hold onto. He could claim every single one of her accomplishments, and from the look of it, boasted none of her flaws. He was…probably not perfect, but a lot closer to her definition of perfect than the previous version had been.

If _this _Kaji had been around in her other life, she would have tied the knot in a heartbeat.

She watched as Asuka and Kaji walked out of sight, Asuka leaning into him with a blushing half-smile on her face and Kaji accepting only as much of the affection as was expected of a father figure.

Misato squeezed her eyes shut. _That_ was the worst thing about the misfile. All the vices she used to rely on to help her _forget_ about what she'd lost were out of her reach. Even if she wanted to try to sneak some alcohol from somewhere, chances are, with the way NERV and Section 2 treated pilots, she would get caught. In fact, she had overseen some of their methods in her other life, and was almost certain she could not have hid any such attempt to save her life. And as much as she craved for something warm and comforting between her legs, none of the boys in her class were the least bit interesting to her, and the only man she'd seriously consider was a dream-like phantom that would only remind her of what she could have had, and wouldn't even consider her in the first place.

She couldn't even switch sides, because the same problem was true with all the girls in her class too. Hikari was a sweet girl, but she was a little too sweet for Misato's liking. Asuka was her most intellectual equal, but she would sooner jump off a cliff than offer that girl anything close to that level of intimacy.

Then she thought of Shinji, and was sure she actually _felt_ her brain short-circuit. It was the elephant in the room of her subconscious mind, but it was almost impossible to think rationally on the subject. She couldn't classify the feeling she felt for him…her…for precisely the reason why she couldn't classify Shinji the way he…she…was now!

On the one hand, she was still the same kid she remembered, boy or girl. She still acted the same, still shied away from confrontation and hid behind her like a scared little schoolgirl. She was a kid, same as the other kids in class. She was her charge. Misato wanted to protect her and help her to build confidence, to grow and mature.

But on the other hand, Misato was a teenage girl now. And no matter how adult her mind was, her hormones were off the chart. And she'd been the farthest thing from abstinent even as an adult. She wanted…needed…someone. Someone she could trust, relate to, share herself with. Someone she could depend on, someone she cared for, someone she knew cared for her.

And that someone wasn't Kaji. Not in this life. And if all hope of returning to her old life rested on Kaworu's ability to do good deeds, whatever that entailed, then she'd be spending a lot of time this way. And if she didn't find an outlet for her tension soon, she'd go insane.

But Shinji was Shinji. Not only was she still half her age, mentally if not currently biologically, but she was also her charge. She was the shyest person Misato knew, and was likely to pass out at the mere suggestion of physical intimacy. She also, currently, lacked the exact tools needed for the job Misato had in mind, but that was a minor inconvenience that could be remedied with the right toys and…

Misato stopped herself. What was she thinking? Was she actually entertaining this idea? God, she hadn't even considered playing for the other team when she was in college. Were these hormones fucking with her emotions _this _much?

But it wasn't like that, she realized. It's not that she was attracted to Shinji, at least, not physically. She wasn't attracted to any of the other girls (or guys for that matter) in her class. But Shinji was…what? Safe? That was the only thing that she could think of that made her stand out. And since when had Misato ever wanted 'safe' anyway? When she'd met Kaji, he'd been a card carrying bad-boy, at least on the surface. When did 'gentle' and 'responsible' suddenly become turn-ons for her?

But then… had she not just been yearning for someone she could trust, depend on, who cared for her? Those weren't exactly staples of the roguish playboy that was the Kaji she knew from her old life. Hadn't she just realized how much more attracted she was to Kaji now that he was more mature and refined?

Oh God, this misfile may have made her a teenager, but she was still psychologically almost thirty. Had she hit that stage in her life where her brain decided it was time to ditch the bad boy and settle down with the nice guy? Kaji was certainly better groomed now, and Shinji was about as domesticated as a house pet. That would certainly explain why her feelings were in such an uproar like this.

Still…that did little to settle the yearning in her stomach. Physically, she still wanted Kaji. But Kaji was out of her reach – if the Asuka from her previous life had shown her anything, it was the futility of a fourteen year old girl pursuing a thirty year old man.

Emotionally speaking…the only person who was available to her was Shinji. But Shinji deserved more than that. Shinji deserved someone who genuinely cared for him, not someone who just needed him to fill a hole in their life. Besides, Shinji hadn't even experienced her first period yet – there was no way she was psychologically prepared to explore a sexual relationship in the body she was currently living in.

No, Misato was still Shinji's guardian and as her guardian, she needed to put Shinji's needs before her own. Misato was an adult, damn it – in spirit if not in body. She needed to be the responsible one and suck up the hardship for the sake of her charge.

But even if Shinji wasn't emotionally prepared…she was the only one Misato could relate to in this misfile. She was the only one she could trust and depend on – and Shinji _had _proven dependable, even in their current predicament. And…Misato had to admit she cared for Shinji. Maybe it was just as a ward, maybe it was just as a friend, maybe...she didn't know. But when she thought back to all the times Shinji had stuck by her, even before the misfile, all she could think of was how important he was to her…and how much he looked out for her. If there was one thing this misfile had shown her so far, it was that Shinji, unquestionably and unconditionally, cared for her.

And that made all the difference in the world.

xxxxx

Shinji wouldn't say she had quite gotten used to her new body. While she had gotten to the point where she could look at her reflection in the mirror without shying away, she still hadn't mustered up the courage to put her hands anywhere below the belt. Misato had warned her that she'd need to keep herself clean, but every time she tried to touch down there, she flinched and pulled her hands back up instinctively. Even she was getting frustrated with her fear of her own body. It had taken a week just to get over the fact that she had breasts, and those had been easy – those were just fatty versions of what she'd had as a boy. Still, the urge to play with them made her uncomfortable, and she avoided touching them except when bathing. But elsewhere…

Shinji gulped. She was going to have to handle that area eventually. She wasn't an idiot – she knew that it was only a matter of time before this body's monthly clock went off. It was like a ticking time bomb that was going to go off any day now. She had no idea when – it was not like she could ask anyone when her last period was, not even Ritsuko, who would almost certainly think that the reason for asking was that Shinji thought she was pregnant, and she was _not_ sitting through _that_ discussion with Dr. Akagi.

Misato had started making Shinji wear a pad in her underwear, which embarrassed Shinji to no end, and was about as uncomfortable as she would have imagined. But she knew – she just knew – that she was in no way prepared for what would happen when it did eventually hit.

"Hey Shina, you draining the Nile or something?"

The sound of Asuka's voice made Shinji flinch and nearly slip and fall down in the shower.

"A-Almost done!" she blurted out without thinking. Months of living with the redhead had conditioned Shinji to jump at her every provocation. She had to actually remind herself that this was a different Asuka than the one she remembered. What did _this_ Asuka care about how long Shinji showered for, anyway? For the past week and a half since the misfile, Shinji had made it a point to take extra-long showers and wait for the other pilots to leave before stepping out. She was prepared to face herself in the mirror, but she there was no way in hell that she was going to be able to keep a straight face while Rei and Asuka got undressed in front of her like it was no big deal.

Shinji shut off the tap and let the water run off her body. She couldn't tell if Asuka was waiting for her or not. She reached a hand out from behind the curtain and found her towel where it should have been and drew it inside to dry herself off. And still, there was no evidence that anyone was waiting for her outside. Finally, she could dally no longer. Shinji tied the towel around her chest – while she was merely an A-cup, she was still ample enough to keep a towel in place it seemed, she thought proudly – and pulled back the curtain.

Sure enough, Asuka was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, fully clothed, waiting for her. She didn't look upset, though, which was a good sign. She didn't look overly happy either, which was also a good sign. Both situations spelled only trouble in Shinji's mind.

"Um…is there something I can help you with?" Shinji offered politely.

Asuka looked somewhat hurt. And not in the mocking way Shinji expected, but genuinely upset. "Oh, come on…what's with the cold shoulder you've been giving me?"

Shinji blinked. Had she heard correctly? Was Asuka trying to imply that _Shinji_ had been the one who responsible for this gap between them?

"Cold…shoulder…?" she stammered, confused.

Asuka threw her arms in the air. "We used to hang out, like, all the time. Now every time I so much as make a joke, you cringe and act like I slapped you or something."

Shinji still wasn't sure she has hearing correctly. "We…used to hang out?"

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Oh, ha-ha, very funny… is this because of Katsuragi?"

Shinji's eyes widened. She was unquestionably lost now, and she was starting to panic. "Katsu…I mean…wha…?"

Asuka shook her head and moved like she was making for the door, but in a way that suggested that she wanted Shinji to hurry up and get dressed. "I swear I don't know who that _dreckskerl_ thinks she is! She's _clearly _after my rightful place at the top of the roster! And you don't honestly buy all that crap she spouts about being 'BFF's Forever,' right? She's just a horny little slut who'll try to get into anyone's pants no matter _who_ they are!"

Shinji was speechless. He had heard Toji and Kensuke bad mouth each other a little when the other wasn't around, but this was just…brutal.

"But…but…" she stammered, torn between wanting to defend Misato's honor and trying to hold onto this fragile hope that she and Asuka had once been friends, and might still be again. "We're all pilots! Shouldn't we…I mean….shouldn't we all try to get along?"

Asuka smiled, but it was a patronizing smile that spoke only of how naïve she thought Shinji was. "Oh, Shina, that's what I love about you – always so idealistic and innocent. Sometimes, I think you're not cut out for this piloting business. It's a rough game we're playing, Shina, and you have to be a killer to get ahead."

Shina blushed, and she was surprised to feel a swell of…what was this feeling? Something she used to feel from her other life. Was it…wounded pride? Whatever it was, she found herself fidgeting.

"I can pilot just fine!" she tried to say forcefully, though it came out more like a squeak. "And Misato…"

"Katsuragi can eat a dick as far as I'm concerned," Asuka said, clearly growing bored of this discussion. "But you're still my friend, Shina…I don't want to see you get hurt, that's all…"

Shinji was absolutely flabbergasted. Did Asuka really think that Misato was somehow a threat to her? That she was some kind of hoodlum or miscreant?

"But…but…" Shinji stammered. "If you don't want to hurt me…why do you keep teasing me all the time?"

Asuka blinked, looking confused. "Teasing you? Come on, that's just playful banter. We used to joke around all the time…seriously, what's gotten into you, lately? How'd you turn into such a timid little mouse all of the sudden?"

Shinji would have denied it – or tried to – if she could think straight. All this time, Asuka was just making fun? And she thought that Shinji was somehow sharing in this fun? Was it…was it possible that they could still be friends? But…but it seemed like Asuka absolutely despised Misato. Shinji couldn't imagine why. They hadn't always been the closest in their previous life, but they hadn't been at each other's throats like rabid dogs, either. And just how different had they been in this past life? Had Shinji…Shina…really been the type of girl who could shrug off a crude joke like the ones she'd been receiving? Had she and Asuka really been those kinds of friends?

And Misato…Shinji would have had to have been blind not to know that Misato had always been a free spirit, but…that didn't mean she was loose…did it? This world's version of Misato couldn't be how Asuka described her. She was only fourteen for God's sake! And they were Eva pilots – NERV and Section Two watched them like hawks. There was no way that any of the pilots could have gotten away with anything unseemly even if they'd wanted to.

Asuka must have simply been exaggerating. Like Misato said, Asuka saw her as a threat. Apparently, Shinji wasn't so much of one, but Misato was a smart, skilled and capable pilot, and if her track record at NERV was to be believed, she had held the position of top pilot up until Asuka had arrived from Germany. It was only natural to assume a rivalry had built up between them. That _had_ to be it! Asuka was just embellishing every little thing she heard and assumed about her rival and was trying to put her down by making these wild claims! By saying that Shinji and Misato were lesbian lovers, Asuka wasn't attacking Shinji…she was attacking Misato. Shinji was just an unfortunate bystander.

So much for friendship.

Shinji narrowed her eyes as Asuka shrugged and waved as she left the locker-room. She had essentially made peace with Asuka, but while Shinji would try her hardest to remain on good terms, she doubted the friendship would resemble anything that either remembered. As much as Shinji looked up to her and admired her and wanted to be closer to her, Misato had always been the more trustworthy and sympathetic of the two.

And besides, this wasn't _his _Asuka anyway. This was a different version, from another world altogether, even if she looked and sounded and acted a lot like her. But she was a stranger. They were all strangers – every friend she'd ever had, save for Misato. Misato was the last – the only person he could trust. He needed her.

And as her fists clenched watching Asuka stroll nonchalantly out the door, Shinji began to realize something.

She had _always_ needed her.

Hurriedly, she threw on her clothes and stumbled out the door. Misato wasn't out there waiting for her like she usually was, so Shinji ran back to Central Dogma to see if she'd stayed behind to speak with Ritsuko or her father or Mister Kaji.

They practically ran into each other as they rounded a corner.

"Shinji!"

"Misato!"

Both were out of breath and both were stammering as they blurted out their next sentence at the same time.

- "_Do you want to go out tonight_?"

- "_Would you like to go out tonight_?"

Both of them froze as they processed exactly what the other had said. Shinji began to blush, and to her surprise, so did Misato. Misato began to laugh, and Shinji smiled shyly.

"I would _love_ to…" Misato smiled, recovering more quickly. She slung her arm around Shinji's and the two of them headed back to the surface.


End file.
